SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio and PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial will meet tomorrow to discuss the composition of Gilas Pilipinas in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The national team has a 24-man pool composed of professional players and amateurs for the SEA Games, but Panlilio said it would be up for discussion, as SBP wants to review the list.
“We’ll discuss that with the PBA,” said Panlilio, who the other day appointed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone as Gilas Pilipinas mentor for the country’s hosting of the SEA Games slated Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.
Cone and Panlilio are scheduled to discuss several details of his tenure with the national team, a stint the 21-time PBA champion coach described as just a stop-gap situation since the SBP will form a committee to find a permanent coach ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Being considered include World Cup campaigners Robert Bolick of NorthPort and CJ Perez of Columbian Dyip, Ginebra’s Stanley Pringle, San Miguel Beer’s Christian Standhardinger and collegiate stalwarts Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras of the University of the Philippines and Thirdy Ravena of Ateneo.
Marcial said that the league would listen to the proposal of the SBP, which he understands will not just include plans for the biennial meet but the World Cup which the country is hosting in 2023.
“Hinatayin namin kung anong programa ang ipapakita nila sa amin. Kung ok naman sa amin bakit hindi,” said Marcial.
“Maganda yan magkaroon na talaga ng magandang programa. Lalo na’t dadating yung 2023 (FIBA World Cup), hindi ko alam kung okay na tayo, sana fit na tayong lumaban,” added Marcial.
The country is co-hosting the World Cup with Japan and Indonesia for the opening round before the Philippines plays host to all knockout matches.