RJ Abarrientos and Troy Rosario were among the notable players present as Gilas Pilipinas commenced its preparations for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
Head coach Tim Cone confirmed that the two Barangay Ginebra cogs are among the four names they have added to the preliminary roster for the continental showpiece slated on August 5-17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“He’s (Abarrientos) part of our long list, Troy is part of our long list,” he shared. “We needed to add a couple guys on our list just to make sure.”
Rhenz Abando and Zavier Lucero are the other two names included, although the young rising stars have yet to join the men’s team’s buildup.
Abando is currently with Strong Group Athletics, heading for the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. Meanwhile, Lucero is still in the midst of a vacation back home in the States after Magnolia’s quarterfinal exit in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
“We actually had Lucero, but he’s in the States at the moment, and we had Rhenz Abando, but I think Rhenz is going to be in Taiwan,” Cone said.
(C) PBA Images
Abarrientos and Rosario were with Gilas at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Pasig, where they only watched film and barely spent court time. Instead, the coaches were managing the players, especially those competing in the All-Filipino semis.
The former NT standouts joined Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Calvin Oftana, Chris Newsome, and CJ Perez. Overseas Filipino imports Carl Tamayo and Dwight Ramos were in attendance as well.
Only June Mar Fajardo was excused as the eight-time PBA MVP continues to work through a calf injury he sustained during the semis versus the Kings.
San Miguel and Ginebra will figure in an all-important Game 7 this Wednesday, July 9, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Because of that, the coaches deemed it best to call off Tuesday’s practice.
Gilas’ preps will resume next Monday, with Cone hoping to see all 16 players in the flesh as he wishes to spend quality practices for the Jeddah games.
Justin Brownlee and AJ Edu are expected to arrive by Tuesday, and having complete attendance should bode well for the coaching staff, as they will soon assess which 12 could comprise the best possible team for the Asia Cup.
“The 12 we’re bringing is not written in stone,” Cone said. “We could make some minute changes. But RJ is certainly a candidate, Troy is a candidate.
“We’ll see what happens as we move forward. But they’re here, and they’re part of the long list that we have, just in case something happens.”
#WATCH: Gilas Men head coach Tim Cone talks about adding RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario, Rhenz Abando, and Zavier Lucero to the national team’s “long list” for the FIBA #AsiaCup 🏀🇵🇭 #ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/yBq3lfoody
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times #LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/kkVorotNJK
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) July 7, 2025
