Chot awaits nat’l squad pledge of SMC cagers

ELEVEN of the 16 players named to the Philippine Team pool by national coach Chot Reyes have passed their commitment contracts, with guards Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine and LA Tenorio of Alaska among the first to do so.

Reyes described as a “very encouraging sign” the player commitments they have already received, and said that he and the coaching staff are just awaiting word from James Yap and Marc Pingris of B-Meg, Petron Blaze’s Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot and Powerade’s Marcio Lassiter.

Petron Blaze and B-Meg are sister teams of Barangay Ginebra under the banner of the conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

Lassiter is vacationing in the United States, though Reyes said they had e-mailed a letter to the crack PBA rookie.

Alaska’s Sonny Thoss and Barangay Ginebra’s Enrico Villanueva also submitted their contracts ahead of the team’s first Monday practices on April 16.

The squad will practice every day for one week before they see action in the William Jones Cup in Chinese-Taipei in August.

Reyes said Lassiter, a member of the original Smart-Gilas program, gave a strong indication that he still wants to serve flag and country before he left for the States, days after the Tigers bowed out of the current Commissioner’s Cup.

In a related development, the botched trade involving Lassiter and two Petron players is reportedly being revived, with the Boosters said to be willing to part ways with former No. 2 Draft pick Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Rey Guevarra.

The original trade proposal—in which Petron would have given up Nonoy Baclao and Guevarra for Lassiter—was disapproved two months ago by league commissioner Chito Salud, who thought the deal was one-sided.

A check with the PBA Commissioner’s Office, however, revealed that the documents for the revised trade proposal have yet to be submitted at presstime.

Meanwhile, Chris Tiu and Greg Slaughter, aces of different Ateneo champion teams in the UAAP, head the amateur standouts who have been named to the national team’s cadet program of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

The program will also be handled by Reyes, who said there is a possibility that “one or two amateurs could ultimately make the team” that is being prepped for the World Basketball Championship’s qualifying event next year.