Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo and Kiefer Ravena lead a list of players who made Gilas Pilipinas’ 12-man roster for the FIBA World Cup in Foshan, China.
Also making the cut in the list the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced late Sunday were Mark Barroca, Japeth Aguilar, Paul Lee, Gabe Norwood, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario and PBA rookies CJ Perez and Robert Bolick.
All 12 were the same players who saw action hours earlier when Gilas suffered an 85-75 loss to the Adelaide 36ers at the Meralco Gym.
Matthew Wright and Poy Erram were left off due to injuries while Beau Belga seemed to have known the inevitable after failing to see action in the two matches against the 36ers.
Gilas will have to do with the 12-man roster in Foshan sans a legitimate three-point threat after early pool candidate Marcio Lassiter suffered a left MCL sprain and Wright hurting his ankle during last week’s practice.
Lassiter and Wright would have been shoo-ins had they stayed healthy.
Perez and Bolick, despite being neophytes in the pro ranks, appeared to have earned Guiao’s trust with the way they performed in the recent Spain trip where Gilas played four games against Congo and Ivory Coast.
Ravena secured a slot despite having to go through an 18-month FIBA suspension that ended last Friday.
Guiao had earlier said that Ravena would have no issues adjusting to the system given that he had been part of Gilas practices for the last two months.
Guiao, meanwhile, is confident that Fajardo, Pogoy and Rosario will get themselves re-acquainted with the team after spending the past weeks playing for their ballclubs in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Barroca, Lee and Aguilar have been consistent for Gilas during the buildup while Blatche will make his second straight World Cup appearance as the team’s naturalized player.
-JONAS TERRADO
