by James De VeraWith the Manila leg of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers just around the corner, Gilas Coaching Staff led by their brilliant tactician Tab Baldwin has now chosen 12 guys for their final line-up. Jimmy Alapag, former captain of the Nationals and now one of the Gilas’ assistant coaches, was given the privilege to announce the final 12.
Andray Blatche, who led the team to a silver medal finish at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in China, and the reigning two-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo headlines the lineup with the two-time Best Point Guard in Asia Jayson Castro and the country’s elite defender Gabe Norwood joining them in the first batch of names announced for the final cut. Names included in the second batch for the ultimate roster are athletic big man Japeth Aguilar, the very versatile forward Ranidel de Ocampo, the young talent Terrence Romeo, and the “puso” (heart) of the team Marc Pingris. Three-Point Assassin Jeff Chan, NBA D-League standout Bobby Ray Parks, the veteran Ryan Reyes, and the athletic youngster Troy Rosario were the last players to be included. Some fans were shocked with the exclusion of LA Tenorio, one of the league’s best point guard, and “the Beast” Calvin Abueva in the final list. Gilas Pilipinas will face the powerhouse teams of France and New Zealand in the Group B of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila with Turkey, Canada and Senegal in the other Group A. The best two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals with the winners playing for one of the last three tickets to Rio. The remaining two tickets will be given to the victors of the Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade (Serbia) and Turin (Italy).
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