Gilas completes pool, pursues foreign cagers

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

There were no-brainers and more than a couple of surprise names that Chot Reyes revealed to make up the 24-man pool of Gilas Pilipinas players with reigning three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and the final cut in the last national team, Calvin Abueva, expectedly making it.

Terrence Romeo, Art Dela Cruz, Japeth Aguilar, LA Revilla, Jonathan Grey, Bradwyn Guinto, Norbert Torres, Raymond Almazan, Paul Lee and Jason Castro were the other new names added to the Gilas Cadet pool that will prepare, primarily, for the 2019 World Cup in China.

Mac Belo, Matthew Wright, Kevin Ferrer, Von Pessumal, Russell Escoto, Ed Daquioag, Alfonso Gotladera, Mike Tolomia, Arnold Van Opstal, RR Pogoy and Jio Jalalon are the Cadet members already in the pool.

Reyes emphasized that he and members of his coaching staff, including Tab Baldwin, made the selections with age a consideration, since the World Cup is still three years away.

“Our oldest player is 30 years old,” Reyes said Sunday night, referring to Castro, the finest point guard in the last two Fiba Asia Championships, and Aguilar, as he put premium on youth that forced him to leave out national team veterans Gabe Norwood and Marc Pingris, among others.

Andray Blatche, the country’s naturalized player, will be the 25th man in the pool, and Reyes stressed that the former Brooklyn Net in the NBA remains committed and available whenever called upon.

“But we will continue to look for naturalized player-candidates,” Reyes said as he bared that Josh Reyes, his son and member of his staff, and another assistant, Jong Uichico, are now abroad looking for new players to naturalize.

No doubt, the likes of Revilla, Torres, Grey, Guinto and even Dela Cruz were surprise selections, obviously because Reyes can pick only one player per team to join the Cadet pool.

But it is not cast in stone, as, depending on the need for specific players and in case of injuries, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas can again knock on the doors of the PBA for additional personnel.

“Right now, as far as the PBA is concerned, it’s one player per team,” said SBP president Al Panlilio. “It’s still a work in progress and we will take it from there. What’s important is there’s a commitment between the two parties to send out the best (national) team to compete.”