Smart-Gilas announces 17-man roster for FIBA Asia Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine men’s basketball team head coach Chot Reyes named his 17-man national team pool of players who will play in the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in August.

On Thursday, February 7, Reyes, via Twitter, listed the initials of his selected players who will form Smart-Gilas.

The official Twitter account of the Philippine Basketball Association, @pbaconnect, spelled out the names of the roster soon after.

The pool of players include: LA Tenorio, Jimmy Alapag, Larry Fonacier, Ryan Reyes, Gary David, Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, Jayson Castro, Jeff Chan, Jared Dillinger, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, JunMar Fajardo, Kelly Williams, Sonny Thoss and Marcus Douthit.

The tweet ended with the note, “Final lineup will be announced on July 1.”

The FIBA Asia Championship is the Asian qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championship.  The Philippines will host the tournament originally set in Lebanon, but political unrest there prompted FIBA officials to move the venue to Manila.- Rappler.com

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