Photo by: Tristan Tamayo/Inquirer.net
TAIPEI – Gilas Pilipinas will have the team it wants for the Fiba Asia Championship next month, this, after the PBA’s board of governors agreed to lend its top players to the national team.
This means that the likes of June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva are now available for inclusion to the squad that will try to regain Asian supremacy in the August 8-20 event in Beirut, Lebanon.
There were mixed reports that came out months leading to the prestigious event that Gilas would also be playing its Cadet team in Beirut, since the event does not fall into the hectic Qualifying process of the World Cup 2019 in China.
Chito Narvasa, the PBA commissioner, confirmed this development in a teleconference on Tuesday morning, saying that it is “the board’s priority to be involved and to be able to help the Gilas program.”
“The PBA, its coaches in particular, were just informed of the schedule (of the Gilas events), which is important to all of them,” said Narvasa.
The PBA had also moved the opening of its next season to December this year to be able to accommodate the National Five in the WC Qualifying that starts in November.
Also because of this development, the PBA will make last-minute adjustments in the Governors’ Cup schedule. The season-ending conference opens Wednesday.