Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame are set to spearhead the Philippines’ campaign in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand later this year.
Head coach Norman Black revealed that the two naturalized players are among the eight who have already committed for the December 9–20 competitions, where Gilas will defend the gold medal it regained in 2023 in Cambodia.
Joining them are B.League imports Ray Parks of Osaka and Matthew Wright of Kawasaki, PBA draftee Jason Brickman, Fil-Am guard Remy Martin, Abra Weavers’ Dave Ildefonso, and UP forward Veejay Pre.
“We do have some commitments from guys who are willing to play,” Black said.
“Right now, Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, Ray Parks, Remy Martin, Matt Wright, Dave Ildefonso, Jason Brickman, and Veejay Pre have all committed to play for the team.”
That leaves four open roster spots, and Black hopes the reinforcements will come from the UAAP.
“We’re hoping to be able to add big men because, if you listen to the names I gave you, we lack size,” he explained.
“We’re hoping that we might get some consideration from the UAAP because they have a lot of young and talented big men who can help us. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make some adjustments to allow their players to join the Southeast Asian Games.”
The veteran mentor, who steered the Philippines to gold back in 2011 with Sinag Pilipinas, noted, however, that the UAAP has yet to release its collegiate basketball schedule, which usually ends mid-December.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Black also revealed that the Korean Basketball League has denied the release of Kevin Quiambao of Goyang Sono and SJ Belangel of Daegu KOGAS for the SEA Games since the tournament is not part of the official FIBA calendar.
“We were turned down by the teams from Korea and Japan, for the most part, when it came to recruiting Filipino players,” he said.
“That took a lot of talent off the table as far as who we could bring in.”
While the pool is shaping up, Black admitted assembling the squad has not been easy, especially with players tied to professional and overseas commitments.
“It’s been very difficult to get the teams to release their players, particularly the ones playing abroad, so it’s been challenging to secure the lineup we initially had in mind,” he said.
Martin, one of the committed names, is not expected to arrive until late November.
“He’s committed to play, but when he’ll arrive, I don’t know at this point,” Black said.
“Until I get a complete lineup, I won’t really be making any announcements about practices.”
(C) FIBA.basketball
Despite the hurdles, Black remains focused on finalizing the roster and preparing the national team for the biennial meet.
“Right now, the most important thing is to get a team together, bring them here, and secure at least a couple of weeks of practice,” he said.
“We’ll do our best to prepare for the Games.”
#WATCH: Gilas Men’s head coach Norman Black reveals the committed players for the 33rd SEA Games this December 🇵🇭🏀
🎥 @justinebacnis/ Tiebreaker Times#LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/7Be9ZqVjV2
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 5, 2025
