Nat’l team coach Reyes names 17-man training pool for Fiba Asia

Smart Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes

MANILA, Philippines — Seven players from recent PBA champion Talk N’ Text banner the national men’s basketball team pool that will go to battle in the Fiba-Asia Championship this August.

National team head coach Chot Reyes first bared his 17-man training pool on Twitter (@coachot) Thursday afternoon, following a meeting with the PBA Board.

Reyes named Jimmy Alapag, Ryan Reyes, Jason Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, Kelly Williams, Larry Fonacier, and Jared Dillinger — who were also his former players — to the line-up.

After the PBA Commissioner’s office tweaked the league’s schedule this season to give Smart Gilas Pilipinas ample time  — Reyes was given two uninterrupted months to prepare.

San Mig Coffee’s Marc Pingris and Petron’s rookie JuneMar Fajardo were also included in the selection, along with star guard Ginebra’s LA Tenorio.

Rain or Shine’s Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood, Global Port’s scoring machine Gary David, and Alaska’s Sonny Thoss are also chosen by Reyes.

Norwood, Chan, De Ocampo, Fonacier, David, Thoss and Tenorio were all part of the Smart Gilas Pilipinas delegation which won the Jones Cup title last year.

Joining naturalized center Marcus Douthit, meanwhile, is seven-foot center Greg Slaughter, the lone player still from the amateurs named to the pool.

Japeth Aguilar, who was recently sent to GlobalPort from Talk N’ Text after openly asking for a trade after a stint in the United States, was also chosen by Reyes to fill up the four-spot.

Arwind Santos is surprisingly missing from the selection even as Reyes had earlier voiced out his interest in the versatile forward from Petron.