SMART Gilas Pilipinas head coach went to social media platform Twitter to announce the 15-man pool for the second window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The pool will consist of Jayson Castro, Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Jiovani Jalalon, Roger Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Allein Maliksi, Gabe Norwood, Calvin Abueva, Carl Cruz, Mac Belo, Troy Rosario, Raymond Almazan, Japeth Aguilar, and June Mar Fajardo.
Noticeably not in the list are Terrence Romeo and naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche.
Romeo is still in the midst of his therapy sessions to fix his right knee injury. Blatche however remains questionable.
The 6-foot-11 stretch big man is currently playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. He is currently averaging just 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. It is unknown if he is injured as he has played just five games so far according to RealGM.com.
Blatche was able to play during the first window of the Qualifiers as the CBA was on break during that time. The 31-year-old averaged 9.5 points and 13.0 rebounds while committing a total of six turnovers in those two games.
Come February 22 — when Gilas takes on Australia on the road, the CBA will once again be on break as their regular season ends on February 11 while the playoffs begin on March 3.
Will Blatche be part of Gilas come the second window? Only coach Chot Reyes can answer that question when Gilas begins its preps on Monday, January 8.
