Reyes to pick just 2 players even as Gilas reps from GlobalPort grow to 4

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio shed some light on GlobalPort’s situation for the Gilas Pilipinas program, with the team housing four players who are part of coach Chot Reyes’ pool.

Originally, Terrence Romeo and rookie Von Pessumal are the Batang Pier representatives to the pool.

But the list was expanded after the three-team trade involving GlobalPort, Meralco, and NLEX led to Bradwyn Guinto and Jonathan Grey changing jerseys to neon green.

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The affable executive explained on Monday that Reyes will drop two players from the four and will pick the replacements for Meralco and NLEX, the two teams which were left with just one representative to the pool.

“The spirit of the agreement is sacred. One player per team is committed to the pool, together with the cadets which were picked in the draft. It’s the prerogative of the national coach to identify the player which will join the pool. Because of trades, there will be adjustments,” he said.

Panlilio added that the move is aimed to keep the parity between the 12 teams and avoid GlobalPort from being forced to give up four players once the pool members are called up for national team duty.

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“It’s going to be unfair for GlobalPort because the commitment is a minimum of one (player). So we’ll have to ask Chot who among the three he will choose. Your guess is as good as mine whoever that is and I think it’s obvious. Chot will then choose from Meralco and NLEX on who he feels should be part of the pool. For that, it will have to be a question that you will ask Chot,” he said.

Panlilio reiterated that the partnership between SBP and the PBA is still going strong, and the two parties just need to hash out some issues in preparation for the upcoming international tournaments, especially the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup in Lebanon.

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“It was reinforced in the board meeting that the commitment of both the SBP and the PBA is the same and we’re on the same page. We want to work together and really build the best competitive team we can come up with to join the important tournaments. The objective hasn’t changed, and so is the desire. The spirit is there to help each other out,” he said.