Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Stanley Pringle, Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright will be back for the Philippines against Qatar on Monday in the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The three have been included in Gilas Pilipinas’ 12-man lineup during the closed-door duel at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced the roster on Sunday.
Joining the three are Scottie Thompson, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang, Gabe Norwood, Asi Taulava, Beau Belga and JP Erram.
“After careful deliberation, SBP fully supports the roster adjustment proposed by Coach Yeng Guiao,” SBP president said in a statement.
Pringle replaced Christian Standhardinger as the team’s naturalized player while Aguilar and Wright, who missed Thursday’s game against Iran due to a one-game suspension, took the place of Allein Maliksi and Raymond Almazan.
Panlilio said the availability of Aguilar and Wright, who got suspended due to their involvement in the brawl against Australia last July, is a “welcome development” to the team, which is coming off an 81-73 loss to Iran in Tehran.
“Japeth’s quickness, perimeter scoring as well as his above the rim athleticism combined with his vast experience in the international brand of play will surely be an added boost in our battle against Qatar,” Panlilio said.
“Matthew Wright is a knock-down shooter from the three-point area. We struggled mightily against Iran because we couldn’t shoot from the outside,with him on-board, hopefully, that problem will be addressed.”
Gilas is also going to bank on its guard play and rely on its speed against a depleted Qatar side, which will miss the services of several of its key cogs due to injuries.
“The inclusion of Stanley Pringle will add stability in our guard rotation as we want to take advantage of our quickness against the guards of Qatar.”