Wright makes strong case for Gilas with stellar All-Star game

Fil-foreign gunner Matthew Wright may have secured a spot in the Gilas Pilipinas final lineup for the coming SEABA Championship after a sterling performance Wednesday night that earned him co-MVP honors in the Cagayan de Oro leg of the 2017 PBA All-Star series.

Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Abueva, Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo have long been expected by almost everybody as shoo-ins for a return stint with Gilas Pilipinas.

Troy Rosario, with whom Wright shared the All-Star MVP honors in CDO, is also a top bet along with Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi.

The rest have their last chance to earn the nod of the Gilas Pilipinas coaching staff as the All-Star series swings over to Lucena tonight for the Gilas-PBA Luzon tussle after which Gilas head coach Chot Reyes formally announces the 12 players going to battle in the SEABA joust.

In an exclusive interview with The STAR before the CDO game, Reyes said: “We already have eight to nine players in mind (for the team).”

He didn’t name names, though, insisting he’s making the final evaluation after the Lucena All-Star setto.

But it could well be Blatche, Fajardo, Aguilar, Abueva, Castro, Romeo, Rosario, Almazan and Maliksi, the nine tested veterans in the pool.

The announcement of the Gilas SEABA roster makes extra special the Lucena All-Star spectacle at the Quezon Convention Center.

The PBA Luzon selection takes its turn to challenge Gilas Pilipinas in a 7:30 p.m. match-up ushered in by the skills competitions starting at 4:15 p.m.

Almazan, Maliksi, Wright, Bradwyn Guinto, Carl Bryan Cruz, Kevin Ferrer, Mike Tolomia, Arnold Van Opstal, Ed Daquiaog, Almond Vosotros, Jonathan Grey and Norbert Torres make up the Gilas roster versus the PBA Luzon selection bannered by Aguilar, Abueva and Castro.

Alex Cabagnot, LA Tenorio, Marcio Lassiter, Stanley Pringle, Jay Washington, Paul Lee, Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos and Ranidel de Ocampo complete the PBA cast to be handled by coach Leo Austria.

Several other PBA stars appear in Lucena to slug it out in the slam dunk competition, three-point shootout and the Obstacle Challenge presented by Cloudfone.

Romeo, Rey Guevarra and Maverick Ahanmisi defend their title in the three-point shootout, slam dunk and Obstacle Challenge, respectively.

Romeo, the three-point winner in Palawan in 2015 and at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last year, tries to match Mark Macapagal’s three-peat from 2010-12 as he defends his crown against a roster of challengers led by 2013 winner Chris Tiu.

Also on the list are Alaska’s Simon Enciso, Ginebra’s LA Tenorio, Mahindra’s Gary David, NLEX’s Juami Tiongson, Meralco’s Jared Dillinger, Star’s Allein Maliksi, TNT’s Larry Fonacier, Blackwater’s Ronjay Buenafe or Michael DiGregorio and SMB’s Marcio Lassiter.

Macapagal is the record-holder with four titles. Romeo, meanwhile, is a two-time winner like Ricric Marata, Jasper Ocampo, Boyet Fernandez and Jimmy Alapag.

“I expect a tough competition because of a strong field,” said Romeo.

Wright is confident he’s going to win. “My gut feeling is I’m going to win it,” he said.