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For Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior reporter
The Philippines men’s national basketball team will add players to its pool from the local professional league rookie draft scheduled for March.
Following their meeting with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) last week, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) presented a list of players they are interested in taking advantage of to be part of the national team program in preparation for future international competitions.
The local basketball federation said it will select Jordan Heading, Tzaddy Rangel and Jaydee Tungcab from the special PBA rookie draft for Gilas on March 14.
The three players will join Isaac Go (Terrafirma), Matt Nieto (NLEX), Mike Nieto (Rain or Shine), Rey Suerte (Blackwater), and Allyn Bulanadi (Alaska), Gilas recruits in 2019, as full-time members of the Gilas Pilipinas Pool.
The group is part of the SBP’s long-term plan to prepare the national team for international competitions, in particular the FIBA World Cup 2023, where the Philippines is one of the hosts along with Japan and Indonesia.
Mr. Heading is a 6-foot-2-inch guard from California Baptist University and a product of the Batang Gilas program, while Mr. Rangel is a 6-foot-8-inch bully from National University.
The two were teammates of San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League.
Tungcab is a 6-foot-3-inch guard from the University of the Philippines (UP), who was supposed to play as an Asian import in the Japanese B. League before new strains of the coronavirus derailed him.
He is no longer a stranger to Gilas as part of the cadet team that saw action in the second window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asian Cup Qualifiers last year.
All three are among the record 97 players to have nominated in the PBA rookie draft.
“We thank all three of them for their trust and commitment to the program. In a short period of time, we have seen the development of the program as well as the individual talents of the players and we are confident that Gilas’ next recruits will benefit greatly from the program director, Tab Baldwin, and his outstanding coaching staff. ” SBP president Al Panlilio said in a statement.
FIBA ACQ WINDOW BACK IN CLARK
Meanwhile, Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga, is back hosting the FIBA Asia Cup third qualifying window.
Following FIBA’s decision last week to cancel the event in Doha, Qatar, due to the increase in coronavirus cases there, the SBP went one step further and offered the Philippines as the venue for the qualifying stage of the regional tournament. .
It’s actually a rehousing for the country, as it was originally set to host the third and final window this week until SBP decided to go offline late last month due to concerns about new strains of the coronavirus and increased restrictions on the part. of the government because of them.
Qatar volunteered to host until the country also decided to withdraw.
In Doha, three groups were ready to play, namely A, B and E, from February 17 to 23.
“The Qatar Basketball Federation was there to help when we could not move forward with our host and it is only fair that the SBP is here for them and also for FIBA,” Panlilio said in a separate statement.
“What we have to remember during these difficult times is that the entire international basketball community is part of one team. We must do our best to help each other as much as we can. We know that our big fans across Asia draw a lot of inspiration from their respective national teams and that is why hosting these games has a lot of value even during a pandemic, ”he added.
In communication with FIBA, SBP said that it was decided that two groups will play in the Philippines and one group in Lebanon.
The schedule and logistics are currently being finalized.
Gilas Pilipinas currently leads Group A with a 3-0 record. Other teams that are part of the group are Korea (2-0), Indonesia (1-2) and Thailand (0-4).
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