THE composition of the Gilas Pilipinas squad set to defend the cage crown in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games later this year in Thailand is hanging in the clouds of uncertainties, for now.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy, however, is staying optimistic that the Philippine five can still hack it, whatever kind of a team it will field in the Dec. 9 to 20 meet.
“I can’t speak for those leagues. For the players, there is a commitment on their part to play,” Dy said. “But of course, it will still depend on their ball clubs, which we cannot control, their contracts.
“Unlike the FIBA windows, where FIBA obliges these ball clubs to release the players to the national team, they do not do it for the SEA Games,” she added.
This year’s Games will run smack into the PBA’s season-opening tourney on its golden anniversary and with the UAAP and NCAA tournaments also underway.
Overseas-based Pinoy standouts will be unlikely to see action for the Tim Cone-mentored Nationals since the SEA Games is not under the FIBA.
The host is also keen on enforcing a one naturalized player per team rule.
In the Cambodia edition of the biennial showpiece, nine pro league stars led by former MVP Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, and naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Christian Standhardinger regained the gold, the medal that matters most to the Filipinos.
Despite the blurry outlook, Dy is not losing hope.
“At this point in time, I would say yes (different Gilas team in the SEAG). But again, there’s no solid plan, so things can change. It can change for the better, it can change for the worse, we don’t know yet,” she said. “But the plan we have at this moment, which I don’t want to reveal yet because we haven’t really solidified it, is that it won’t be the same team (like in FIBA tilts).
“We also want to give a chance for the next generation to be able to compete internationally at a league level.”
With Cone saying he does not intend to call the shots for a different team in the SEA Games than what he has right now, a lot of burning questions need answers in the coming months.
