By JONAS TERRADO
The composition of the Gilas Pilipinas roster for this month’s FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers window will be tackled today in a special board meeting.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and representatives of the 12 ballclubs will discuss plans proposed by coach Chot Reyes, who was brought back by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in lieu of Tab Baldwin.
Reyes has said that he plans to bring in the core of his TNT squad for the upcoming qualifiers which will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gilas will take on rival South Korea on Feb. 24, India on the following day and New Zealand and Feb. 27.
The plan to have TNT players don the national jersey came as the Gilas pool was decimated with the likes of Kai Sotto, Thirdy Ravena, Jordan Heading and Dwight Ramos playing for their clubs abroad.
Also affected are the recent developments that saw Isaac Go, Allyn Bulanadi, Rey Suerte and twins Matt and Mike Nieto being released from their Gilas contracts in hopes of securing deals with either PBA teams or overseas clubs.
Naturalized player Ange Kouame, on the other hand, may need to secure the clearance of Ateneo since the Blue Eagles under Baldwin are expected to prepare for the planned resumption of the UAAP season.
Eight TNT players have previous experience with the national team, namely Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy, Poy Erram, Troy Rosario, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams, new addition Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Carl Bryan Cruz.
