By JONAS TERRADO
Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes submitted a list of 30 players to the PBA as part of preparations for the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and succeeding windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Reyes turned the list over to PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial during a meeting held Tuesday where they discussed the direction of the Gilas program following the recent window of the Asian Qualifiers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marcial didn’t reveal the names but said that it’s a mixture of PBA players and those who are still part of the Gilas pool.
Members of the PBA Board of Governors will also tackle the league’s involvement in the Gilas program during their regular meeting on March 7.
The meeting, which also included Gilas team manager Butch Antonio and PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro, had been planned shortly after Reyes made a surprise return to the Gilas sidelines in lieu of Tab Baldwin.
Reyes steered the Philippines to a split of the two games in the February window with mostly a combination of the Gilas pool and players from the TNT Tropang Giga.
He opted to have such a setup in order to build cohesion as quickly as possible for the window, with plans to put a long-term program in place afterwards.
But Reyes said there’s a likelihood that a roster full of PBA players could be tapped for the Southeast Asian Games due to the upcoming UAAP and NCAA seasons which will run until May.
The SEA Games in Vietnam will take place in mid-May, a perfect time for the PBA to lend its players since the current Governors’ Cup will end a month earlier.
