PBA players to suit up again for Gilas in FIBA qualifiers

After a remarkable showing by a young Gilas Pilipinas crew, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) program director Tab Baldwin revealed that PBA players are set to bolster the national team in the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas, which leads Group A with a 3-0 record, fielded a youthful lineup bannered by cadets and amateur standouts in the second window in Manama, Bahrain, where they took down an all-pro Thailand team twice.

For the third FIBA window in February, however, Baldwin believes that experience is needed as the Philippines faces stronger opponents like powerhouse South Korea and vastly improved Indonesia.

“There’s always going to be room for and a need for experience in our team if we expect to compete at the elite level. In this upcoming window, because the PBA is at a break period, we should be able to access some PBA players,” said Baldwin in a virtual press conference on Thursday, December 17. 

“Expect a [combination] including PBA players, including young players, but at this point, it’s far too early to be able to delineate how many of each,” added Baldwin on the mixture of pro and amateur players who will see action in a bubble in Clark, Pampanga in February.

Gilas Pilipinas will start its preparation early in January and Baldwin hopes to create a talented team – not a team of talents – for the third window, which may include 7-foot-2 wunderkind Kai Sotto in the roster.

“We want to get into camp, we want to get all of our players into camp, and we want to see them working out against one another,” said Baldwin.

“The ultimate goal for us is to create a talented team, not a team of talents, and so it’s up to all of the players to find their place within this talented team,” he added. – Rappler.com