Fil-German Christian Standhardinger will replace Stanley Pringle as naturalized player while Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario will return when Gilas Pilipinas battles Iran Monday in the second game of the fifth window of FIBA World Cup qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
National coach Yeng Guiao, however, is still undecided who to drop in the roster to give way for Castro and Rosario who each served a three-game suspension from FIBA.
“We’ll talk about it,” said Guiao. “Jayson and Troy will play, but the players they’ll replace, we’ll make a decision.”
The national team suffered a stunning 92-88 loss Friday night to Kazakhstan at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The setback dropped the Philippines to a tie for third and fourth spots in Group F with Japan with identical 5-4 cards after the Japanese downed Qatar, 85-47, in their home court yesterday in Toyama.
Guiao said that the addition of Castro in the roster will still give the Filipinos stability at the backcourt even without Pringle, who led the team with 29 points, with three rebounds and four assists against Kazakhstan.
Rosario, on the other hand, will add depth between the two to four spots alongside wingman Gabe Norwood since both are threats on offense and are tough defenders.
The last time both teams met in Tehran last Sept. 13, the national team lost, 81-73, as veteran forward Samad Nik Bahrami scored 21 points while Arsalan Kazami had 11 points for the Iranians.
Iran will arrive today and will finalize its roster Sunday, a day before the game also at the MOA Arena. (Waylon Galvez)
