THE Philippine Basketball Association Board of Governors unanimously, in a special meeting Wednesday, approved the release 17 players to the national pool from which coach Tab Baldwin will select the members of the team that will compete in the Olympic wild card qualifier next year.
Calvin Abueva, Gabe Norwood, Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Marc Pingris and Terrence Romeo – members of Gilas 3.0 that finished runner up to eventual champion China in the recent FIBA Asia championship in Changsha, China – head the list that got the green light from the Board of Governors through a resolution demonstrating their full support to the national team.
Also in the wish list are June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Greg Slaughter, Jeff Chan, Paul Lee, Ryan Reyes, Troy Rosario and Ian Sanggalang.
All have been part of the Gilas team at one time or another, except Reyes, Rosario and Sanggalang.
Lassiter, Aguilar and Slaughter were part of the original Gilas team, under coach Rajko Toroman.
Fajardo, Tenorio, Aguilar, Chan and Lee will be the returnees from the Gilas team that competed in the 2014 World Cup and in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Reyes was a member of the Powerade PHL team to the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin, while Rosario and Sanggalang have played for the national team in the SEA Games. Rosario also served as an alternate in the recent Changsha joust.
“The PBA commits to fully support the formation of the Philippine national team that will participate in the wildcard Olympic qualifying tournament on July 5 to 10,” PBA chairman Robert Non said in the presence of all members of the Board, commissioner Chito Narvasa and president/CEO Chito Salud.
The Board also formed an ad hoc committee to make sure the players named to list report to the pool.
The committee is composed of Ginebra’s Alfrancis Chua, Talk n Text’s Patrick Gregorio, Rain or Shine’s Mert Mondragon and commissioner Narvasa.
“The PBA has approved the participation of all the players. As for the players, it’s the ad hoc committee’s task to get their nod,” said Non.
The Board agreed to lend players and at the same time adjust its season calendar to accommodate training and actual participation of Gilas to the Olympic qualifier.
“The PBA is adjusting the third conference, which shall start after the end of the qualifying tournament on July 10, 2016,” said Non. “The PBA shall allow the PBA players selected to attend practice sessions once a week, specifically every Monday for 28 weeks starting November, 2015.”