UAAP and NCAA players being eyed by Chot Reyes for upcoming competitions.
After a shocking end to their reign in the Southeast Asian Games, head coach Chot Reyes is eyeing for a very much improved lineup of the team to begin their preparations for other national team events like the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers and the FIBA Asia Cup this July.
According to coach Chot, he is looking to work with UAAP and NCAA stars for the upcoming FIBA windows.
“We wanted to really have the opportunity to expose Carl Tamayo, SJ Belangel, Dave Ildefonso, even guys like James Spencer of UP, Justine Baltazar. We really want to be able to expose them to higher level Asian competition,” Reyes said in an interview on Play It Right TV on Wednesday, May 25.
“The end in view is to prepare them for 2023, for the World Cup, so that’s the plan.”
Other names thrown in the mix are Dave Ildefonso and SJ Belangel of Ateneo, Japan-bound Justine Baltazar of La Salle and recently named NCAA Season 97 Rookie MVP Rhenz Abando after leading his team to a championship.
"In our plans, it's going to be composed mostly of UAAP and NCAA players because the PBA is going to be ongoing at that time," he added.
Aside from big names from the collegiate ranks, getting their first men’s national team call up are Kevin Quiambao, Xyrus Torres, James Spencer, and Sherwin Concepcion.
Aside from the young guns, the Gilas Pilipinas will be reinforced by Filipino overseas imports like Shiga’s Kiefer Ravena, San-En’s Thirdy Ravena, and Hokkaido’s Dwight Ramos.
Holdovers from the current roster are William Navarro along with free agent Lebron Lopez while new bloods in the PBA Rain or Shine’s Gian Mamuyac and Shaun Ildefonso; Converge’s Justin Arana; and Terrafirma’s Javi Gomez de Liano will join the team once cleared by the PBA.
Tags: #FIBA, #UAAP, #NCAA, #Gilas, #sports