Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes shed light on Calvin Abueva’s status in the wake of reports that the Beast is looking forward to being reconsidered for the second window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualfiers.
“Saan? Sino nagsabi? Ha? Baka nanaginip lang siya.
“We took him out of the consideration for the second window, but he has remained part of the pool. And I’ve always said: people can play themselves into consideration, into the pool and out of the pool, or out of consideration,” expressed the outspoken mentor regarding the news that circulated Tuesday evening, just moments after Gilas’ practice at the Meralco Gym in Pasig.
“There’s no change there. ‘Wag tayo excited,” he added.
Talks of Abueva being reconsidered after being removed weeks ago arose when Troy Rosario met an in-game accident last week. But then, Reyes has remained firm with his initial decision, and the Alaska Aces star accepts it.
“Sa akin nga, ginagawa ko lang yung best ko dito. Sayang rin na mag-skip ka sa second window,” said the 30-year-old.
“Pero ayun, tinatanggap ko ng buo.”
But that doesn’t mean that Abueva’s hopes have dwindled by the decision.
“Kulang kulang ang mga players, may mga injured. Kung mapasama ako, malaking bagay sa akin yun. Dodoblehin ko yung effort ko,” he declared.
Regarding Rosario, the 6-foot-7 forward has already attended Gilas’ practice, also on Tuesday night, giving Reyes and his deputies something to be happy about. But Reyes said that Rosario has yet to be cleared to play.
“He’s cleared to practice, but he’s really not cleared to play,” disclosed Reyes.
“He’s cleared to do some light workouts, shooting drills, but not really full contact, so we’re not keeping our hopes up high for him to be able to join the team.“
