Minimum or maximum for Gilas national pool?
The Gilas pool of 24 will be announced jointly by the SBP and PBA in a press conference during the break in between games of a PBA doubleheader at the PhilSports Arena on Jan. 22 but it appears the initial roster is flexible, meaning there may be changes on the way to submitting the final 12-man lineup for the SEABA Championships in April.
The PBA twinbill on Jan. 22 features Alaska against Mahindra and Barangay Ginebra against Phoenix. SBP president Al Panlilio will join the PBA Board of Governors and PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa in disclosing the 24 names in the pool.
Of the 24, 12 will be the rookies picked in the recent special Gilas draft. They are Alaska’s Carl Bryan Cruz, Barangay Ginebra’s Kevin Ferrer, Blackwater’s Mac Belo, GlobalPort’s Von Pessumal, Mahindra’s Russel Escoto, Meralco’s Ed Daquioag, NLEX’ Fonzo Gotladera, Phoenix’ Matthew Wright, Rain Or Shine’s Mike Tolomia, San Miguel Beer’s Arnold Van Opstal, Star’s Jio Jalalon and TNT KaTropa’s Roger Pogoy.
The 12 other players will come from each PBA team. It was decided by the PBA Board that every team will cede one player, aside from a Gilas rookie, to the pool. The agreement was for each team to lend a maximum of two players. But it appears that some franchise owners are amenable to offer more than two players if it will be for the good of the national team.
It may be difficult to keep the pool of 24 intact because players may be injured or even traded. The usual practice in the run-up for a FIBA event is an initial roster of 24 is submitted two months before the tournament. Then, a short list of 12 to 16 players is turned in about six weeks later. The final lineup of 12 is confirmed a week before the competition. The players in the short list and final lineup can only come from the original roster of 24.
The Gilas pool of 24 will be exclusively for PBA players. That means standouts like Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks are excluded from consideration. A naturalized player will be added to the pool.
“Some of the rookies in the Gilas draft weren’t planning to turn pro but because the agreement was for the pool to be made up exclusively of PBA players, it was decided to bring them all in,” said a source. “Once the final lineup of 12 is determined, the players who didn’t make it will automatically go back to their PBA teams.”
Ravena and Parks are tied down to different commitments so they won’t be available for Gilas. Ravena is in the US training with the farm team of the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends while Parks is with Alab Pilipinas in the ABL. “It’s difficult at this point to accommodate Ray-Ray and Kiefer,” said a source. “They can’t just show up for the tournament. They’ve got to join training camp which means giving up playing elsewhere for about two months. That’s how it will be with the PBA players in the pool.”
The problem of holding each PBA team down to two players, including a Gilas rookie, is it will limit Gilas head coach Chot Reyes’ options. For instance, in Rain Or Shine’s case, there are at least three players who could make it to the pool – Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan and Raymond Almazan. In San Miguel Beer’s case, JuneMar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter would be key additions. In the Star Hotshots’ case, clear candidates are Paul Lee and Marc Pingris. But under the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement between the PBA and SBP, each PBA team will lend only one additional player aside from its Gilas rookie. So in Rain Or Shine’s case, Reyes will pick among Norwood, Chan and Alamazan to pair with Tolomia. In San Miguel Beer’s case, it will be Fajardo or Lassier or Cabagnot to join Van Opstal and in Star’s case, Lee or Pingris will be chosen aside from Jalalon.
It’s not certain if Asia’s No. 1 point guard Jayson Castro will be named to the pool but if he is, the TNT KaTropa star said recently he’ll rejoin Gilas. Castro had announced his retirement from the international game after the Philippines was knocked out of contention at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament here last July. But with Reyes back at the helm to replace Tab Baldwin, Castro said he’ll play again for Gilas if invited. Reyes’ dilemma is if Castro is in the pool, he won’t be able to enlist Troy Rosario because of the two-player limit. Pogoy is TNT’s Gilas rookie in the pool.
There is wide speculation that the pool of 24 will include surprise “fresh” players to signal a new Gilas generation. Rumored to be in the cast are Meralco’s Jonathan Grey, NLEX’ Bradwyn Guinto and Blackwater’s Art de la Cruz. The easy choice for Meralco would’ve been Jared Dillinger only he’s down with a hamstring issue. The early pick for Blackwater was Poy Erram but he suffered an ACL injury and another option Carlo Lastimosa was traded to NLEX.
Shoo-ins for the pool are Alaska’s Calvin Abueva, GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo, Phoenix’ J. C. Intal and Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar. To be added to the cast is Andray Blatche as Gilas’ naturalized player. Blatche’s availability, however, is under question. He’s playing for Xinjiang in the Chinese league and if the Flying Tigers make it all the way to the finals, his last game will be on April 16. There is still no schedule for the SEABA Championships but it may likely be set sometime in April. If Blatche is unavailable, Gilas might just pull in Mo Tautuaa as the naturalized player. Tautuaa is half-Filipino and carries a Philippine passport but under FIBA rules, does not qualify as a local with the national team because his travel documents were issued after he turned 16.