Gilas Pilipinas vies for continental glory as it plunges back to action in the FIBA Asia Cup set to run from August 5 to 17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas confirmed on Thursday the inclusion of Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Oftana, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Carl Tamayo, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao and Jamie Malonzo into coach Tim Cone’s roster.
Cone’s selection was the same he had during the final window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers last February while also sticking with Oftana despite dealing with an ankle injury since the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals for TNT.
Cone had earlier said that Oftana had a “50-50 çhance” of making the squad, but was still given the green light to don the Gilas jersey for the continental tournament.
RJ Abarrientos and Troy Rosario, included in the pool by Cone and had trained for Gilas since the buildup began last July 7, were the two cuts and did not join the team when it left for Jeddah.
Rhenz Abando and Zavier Lucero did not join the national team preparations for various reasons.
Gilas arrived earlier this morning for its final preparations for the Asia Cup, with a tune-up against Jordan slated Saturday.
The Philippines opens its campaign on the first day of the tournament against Chinese-Taipei.
