ONE player per Philippine Basketball Association team.
That’s the plan of returning Smart Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes as he laid out his program for the National Team moving forward.
Reyes, who has been reappointed by the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas as the National coach last Tuesday, said the Gilas program is set to tap one player from each of the 12 PBA teams that will join the original set of cadet players in the National pool.
“The PBA is set to allow one player from each of the 12 teams to be a part of this Gilas pool that we’re building,” said Reyes right after being named as the National coach again.
Second, Reyes also wants all the 12 selected Gilas cadets, who are expected to be led by amateur standouts: Mac Belo, Jio Jalalon, Matthew Wright, Kevin Ferrer, Von Pessumal, Arnold Van Opstal, Mike Tolomia, Roger Pogoy, Russell Escoto and Ed Daquioag, among others, to all join the upcoming PBA Draft on October 30 and be part of the pro-league to further enhance their skills.
“If you play in the PBA, you’re going to get in game shape. You’re going to get a lot of training and most importantly, you’ll be able to adapt to different teammates, coaches, systems and situations,” said Reyes.
“The selected cadets will all be part of Gilas but they will all be part of the PBA Draft also. My commitment to the PBA is that every player who puts on the Gilas jersey is going to be part of the PBA Draft.”
The PBA and the SBP already agreed to the set-up and to a special draft, also on Oct. 30, for the Gilas cadets last Wednesday.
Reyes envisions a Gilas pool that will consist of the 12 cadets and 12 PBA players, one from each team as stated earlier.
“The plan is very clear. We’re going to put together the best group of players not in the PBA plus the best from the PBA and form a pool. That’s where the future Gilas teams are going to come from,” he said.
“We want to be ready to have the best representation for the 2019 World Championships and also prepare for the 2020 Olympics.”