Gilas Pilipinas will march on to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, with an 11-strong team.
Philippines head coach Tim Cone confirmed the news on Monday evening after Gilas defeated Taiwan Mustangs in a friendly send-off tuneup game at the Philsports Arena in Pasig, 74-64.
“No. We’re going 11-strong,” Cone answered when asked if there would be any additional players aside from those who played against the Mustangs.
With AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo already sidelined due to injuries, the Nationals suffered another setback as point guard Scottie Thompson was also kept out of the lineup due to a back injury.
Gilas will be led by Justine Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, and Kai Sotto.
The 11-man lineup also includes Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Oftana, Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, and Mason Amos.
In the OQT, the Philippines is placed in Group A alongside higher-ranked Latvia and Georgia.
Despite being one player short of the maximum 12 allowed, Cone does not believe their lineup is depleted.
“I don’t feel we’re shorthanded at all. I’m not a guy who plays 11, 12 guys anyway; you know me, I don’t play that many guys,” said Cone.
“I typically use an eight to nine-man rotation. The reason you have 12 guys is not necessarily for the game; you have 12 guys in practice so you have extra bodies in case somebody goes down. So I don’t feel shorthanded at all,” continued the seasoned tactician.
Before heading to the OQT in Latvia, Gilas will play tuneup games against Turkiye and Poland on June 27 and 29, respectively.
