Parks returns to Gilas after 5-year absence; Ravenas, Ramos lead roster

MANILA, Philippines – Ray Parks returns home to Gilas Pilipinas after a five-year absence as he joins the final 12-man roster for the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced on Saturday, July 9.

Parks, who last played in the 29th Southeast Asian Games back in 2017, will be joined by fellow Japan B. League stalwarts Dwight Ramos and the Ravena brothers Kiefer and Thirdy.

This will be the younger Thirdy Ravena’s first Gilas tour since the February window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers where he averaged 19 points in two games.

Meanwhile, three of the five incoming Filipino imports of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) will also see action as RJ Abarrientos, SJ Belangel, and Will Navarro also got called up anew.

Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, LeBron Lopez, Geo Chiu, and PBA veteran Poy Erram round out the roster.

Chot Reyes, who dealt with public outrage after the country failed to defend its SEA Games gold this year, will also make a controversial return as head coach for the entire Asia Cup run as Nenad Vucinic takes a step back as an assistant alongside Jong Uichico and Sandro Soriano.

Gilas Pilipinas continues to miss naturalized center Ange Kouame, who’s still recuperating from a partial ACL tear. 

Dave Ildefonso also still won’t see action for the national team due to a knee injury.

NCAA rookie MVP Rhenz Abando, meanwhile, didn’t make the final cut after playing two games in the third window of the World Cup qualifiers last week.

The continental tournament will start on Tuesday, July 12 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and will run until the 24th.

Gilas will first face Lebanon in the group stage on Wednesday, July 13, before battling India and New Zealand. – Rappler.com