SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan on Wednesday said that Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin needs more time to select the 14 players that will comprise the national team.
Pangilinan said he was shown the initial list Tuesday evening when he arrived from Hong Kong.
“It looks good. But eventually, it’s coach Tab’s call,” said Pangilinan during a sendoff attended by other SBP and the Philippine Basketball Association officials Wednesday at the Novotel Hotel in Quezon City, just before the team was to face Iran in a tune-up game at the Araneta Coliseum.
Initially, there was a 24-man roster. From that list, Paul Lee, Greg Slaughter and Matt Ganuelas were removed from contention due to injuries, leaving Mark Belo, Roger Pogoy Kevin Ferrer, Jiovanni Jalalon, Russel Escoto, Troy Rosario, Kiefer Ravena, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, Andray Blatche, Jeff Chan, Ranidel de Ocampo, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Gabe Norwood Marc Pingris, Ryan Reyes, Terrence Romeo, Troy Rosario, Moala Tautaa, LA Tenorio and Jayson Castro in the pool.
The final 14, which will be announced anytime this week, will embark on a series of conditioning and training sessions in Greece and Italy, starting on July 10.
The Olympic qualifying tournament will have six teams divided into two groups.
Group A will include Turkey, Senegal and Canada, while Group B will have France, New Zealand and the Philippines.
Gilas will meet France on opening day on July 5, before facing New Zealand a day later. The games will be aired live on TV5.
