Gilas names final 12; Tenorio, Abueva out
Former Philippine team captain Jimmy Alapag during the announcement of Gilas Pilipinas’ final lineup Sunday at TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong. PBA IMAGES
Tropang TNT, Rain or Shine, San Miguel Beer, Star, Barangay Ginebra and Globalport are six PBA teams with representation in the Gilas Pilipinas final roster named for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Mall of Asia Arena on July 5-10.
The Texters have the most number of players in the team with four, followed by the Elasto Painters with two then by the Beermen, the Hotshots, the Gin Kings and the Batang Pier with one each.
TNT’s Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Troy Rosario and Ryan Reyes, ROS’s Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan, SMB’s June Mar Fajardo, Star’s Marc Pingris, Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Globalport’s Terrence Romeo are joined in the Gilas IV by naturalized player Andray Blatche and Fil-Am guard/forward Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
Coach Tab Baldwin announced the composition of the team prior to their game against China in a pocket tourney in Bologna, Italy – the closing part of their European training for the Manila OQT.
Missing the final cut are Ginebra’s LA Tenorio and Alaska Milk’s Calvin Abueva, both veterans of previous Gilas squads.
Among who made it, Norwood is the most veteran, being a fixture in the national team from the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan.
The George Mason U product also served duty in three of the next four FIBA Asia meets and in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
De Ocampo is the player with the second most extensive service lent to the national team, starting a long stint with Gilas in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He’s been a Gilas regular up to present.
Aguilar made his debut as a national player in the 2009 Tianjian Asian joust under coach Yeng Guiao. But he’s been in and out, making strides in the 2014 World Cup then begging off for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha.
Pingris, Chan, Castro and Fajardo all came on board in the 2013 Asian meet in Manila. All four stayed with Gilas in the 2014 World Cup then Chan and Fajardo left.
Romeo filled one of the spots vacated by the Gilas veterans in 2015, and the young Globalport star proved to be a big revelation in his first international tourney – the Jones Cup in Taipei.
Reyes now takes his turn to make his Gilas debut. At 32, he finally made the national team after being cut on account of an injury in 2009.
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