Gilas eyes 5 to 6 players in PBA special draft

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is eyeing around five to six players from the upcoming PBA Rookie Draft to add to the current Gilas Cadets pool.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said the list of players to be taken in the special draft is being finalized and will be submitted to PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

“Our objective is developmental and for tournaments where we can send a team without having to bother the PBA. We have at least 10-12 names that we have so that we have a team that can not only practice, but can also compete,” said Panlilio.

“We can get five to six, that’s already 10 to 11 players and then, plus you add the college players that we already have on the pool like Dwight Ramos. I guess we have a team that we can carry on for certain tournaments.”

A special draft was also held back in December 2019 where Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt and Mike Nieto and Allyn Bulanadi were selected.

The Rookie Draft set this March will feature a record number of aspirants at 97 including Cadets Calvin Oftana, Jaydee Tungcab and Will Navarro.

Gilas will return to action later this month in the third and final window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Doha, Qatar.

The Philippines currently leads Group A at 3-0, needing only one win to secure a seat in the continental meet.