Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
LUCENA—Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes will have just one more game to make up his mind on the final roster for the National team that will try to win the Southeast Asian Basketball Association championship in two weeks.
The second batch of Reyes’ Gilas pool plunge into action against the PBA’s Luzon All-Stars on Friday at Quezon Convention Center here, and Reyes will fill—more or less—three slots to complete his roster and join the likes of June Mar Fajardo and naturalized center Andray Blatche.
The 7:30 p.m. game will be the second—and last—game for the national pool before Reyes trims the group to the 12-man lineup.
Reyes, in an earlier interview, had said that he had decided on who the first 8 to 9 names will be, and that deciding on the final three would be the most difficult since “all of the players are very dedicated [to national cause].”
Allein Maliksi, the lanky streak-shooter from Star who replaced Paul Lee in the pool, and 6-foot-7 center Raymund Almazan will spearhead Gilas against Luzon. Cadets Ed Daquioag, Jonathan Grey, Almond Vosotros, Arnold Van Opstal, Matthew Wright, Kevin Ferrer and Mike Tolomia will also play together with Bradwyn Guinto and Norbert Torres.
The first batch of pool members drew with the Mindanao All-Stars on Wednesday night, 114-all, in a game which gave Reyes a good look on who will be worthy to carry the country’s colors at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I thought they (Mindanao All-Stars) really gave out a good effort and that’s very important,” Reyes said on Wednesday. “It was very important for us to get tested that way.”
The Seaba is a tournament that Gilas needs to win to be able to qualify for the next phase of the long road to the 2019 World Cup set in China.
Matthew Wright and Roger Pogoy loom as strong candidates for spots in the team. The two combined for 36 points on Wednesday.
Wright, who plays in the mold of a Marcio Lassiter, finished with 22 points.
Other veterans considered shoo-ins by many are Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, and of course, Jason Castro, the fleet-footed 30-year-old adjudged as the region’s best point guard in the last two Asian Championships.