NO Fil-Am NBA standout Jordan Clarkson. No prized center Kai Sotto.
This scenario gnaws at Gilas Pilipinas in the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers in November.
But national coach Chot Reyes is unfazed, saying the PBA and the NCAA and UAAP will lend their players despite their ongoing seasons in Gilas’ games against Jordan and Saudi Arabia at venues yet to be announced by the world governing body for basketball.
“We’ve already talked about it with the PBA. They are going to make players available just like the UAAP and NCAA,” Reyes said.
“In the last general SBP meeting, they already said that the UAAP and NCAA, if necessary, call for a two-week break to accommodate the players that we may select. Same thing with the PBA,” he added.
The new NBA season where the 6-foot-5 Clarkson is expected to play for the Utah Jazz kicks off on Oct. 19, while Sotto and his Adelaide side begin their campaign in the National Basketball League of Australia on Oct. 1.
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup gets going on Sept. 21, while the 98th NCAA basketball tournament opens on Saturday. The 85th UAAP cage wars will fire off on Oct. 1.
With most players such as brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, and Bobby Ray Parks Jr., in the national team training pool also set to resume their overseas stints, Reyes is counting on the PBA and the collegiate leagues to lend a big hand.
“We are looking forward to it, but nothing is set in stone,” he said. “The realization of having these players together, getting them a little bit of practice time, that’s the plan.”
Gilas dropped a heartbreaking 81-85 loss to Lebanon last Aug. 26 but bounced back from that numbing defeat with a runaway 84-46 drubbing of Saudi Arabia last week to hike its mark to 3-3 in Group E heading into the next window of the no-bearing qualifiers since the Philippines has already qualified for the world cage spectacle next year as co-hosts with Japan and Indonesia.
Reigning PBA MVP Scottie Thompson and Ginebra teammate Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome of Meralco, NLEX’s Calvin Oftana, Jamie Malonzo of NorthPort, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Ramos, Parks, University of the Philippines standout Carl Tamayo, and pro league free agent Roosevelt Adams completed the Gilas crew that played in the fourth window.
