Gilas to hold trial session with pool of 20+ players

MANILA, Philippines – With the mid-season PBA conference about to enter the playoffs, the national team is gearing up for tryouts that will involve a pool of more than 20 players, head coach Tab Baldwin said Sunday, March 22. 

“It’s not a set number,” he said when asked how many players he is eyeing for the pool. “There are no restrictions on how many but for the practicality of making sure we can manage a good trial session, we need to probably be no more than the mid-20s.”

Baldwin already selected a 16-man Sinag cadet pool to represent the country in the SEA Games this June and the SEABA Championship this April, which serves as a qualifier for the FIBA Asia Championship in September.

But with PBA players still deep into the season with their mother ballclubs, Baldwin cannot rush the process of building a new national team.

(RELATED: Gilas not likely to naturalize guards like Lakers’ Clarkson, says Baldwin)

“I got it under control. Almost perfectly under control,” he said in jest before turning serious, saying it won’t be long now before the pool will be revealed. 

“We’re working through it still. We’re not far away, I hope, from announcing the pool of players. But even watching games today (Sunday, March 22), there’s still question marks over a couple of players both positively and negatively.”

(RELATED: Baldwin sees both Abueva’s value and flaws)

The PBA’s adjusted schedule this season will allow the nationals some 9 to 10 weeks of training time after the season-ending Governors’ Cup slated to wrap up on the third week of July.

Baldwin did not reveal any names but he repeated in many interviews since December that he is looking for local big man and reigning PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo to lead the national team. (READ: Baldwin: Fajardo has to ‘anchor’ national team, take more responsibility)

The 6-foot-11 Fajardo, who saw limited but valuable action for Gilas in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2014 FIBA World Cup, is likely the only member of the last Gilas reiteration assured of a spot in the new team.

(READ: Baldwin hopes Fajardo gets more international burn to improve)

In the PBA All-Star Weekend in Palawan earlier this month, Baldwin also reportedly approached a number of players to get to know them better. 

“We’ve got to make a decision soon,” Baldwin said. “We choose to make a decision, so we will.” – Rappler.com