Juan Gomez de Liano feels excited to run it back with his peers after being called up for Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The lefty guard will see his second straight tour of duty with the Nationals as a replacement for the injured Scottie Thompson, forming a reunion with his ‘batchmates’ in Justine Baltazar and RJ Abarrientos.
“Super excited,” he expressed during the send-off presser organized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas at the FilOil Center in San Juan, Monday.
The troika were part of the Gilas squad mentored by Tab Baldwin back in 2021, a squad which competed in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers and, famously, in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia as a virtual wild card.
And it was during the Asia Cup Qualifiers’ Bahrain bubble where Gomez de Liano and Baltazar first became teammates, creating a bond that would eventually be rekindled years later in the professional ranks.
The two are currently teammates in Converge in the PBA, drafted one after the other by the young franchise in the last two Rookie Drafts.
So, to say that they’re familiar with one another’s styles of play and tendencies could be an understatement. The question now is how that familiarity will translate now that they’re back in Gilas.
“The last time we represented the country was when we went to Bahrain during the pandemic,” recalled the former KBL and B.League import. “Now we’re teammates not just with Gilas but in Converge in the PBA.
“Super excited. I’m very familiar with how he plays; I know his spots, I know how to get him going. Just blessed to be here with Balti as well.”
Then there’s Abarrientos, who’s becoming a rival of his in the PBA after the FiberXers and Barangay Ginebra figured in a quarterfinal classic during the Season 50 Philippine Cup that could be a Game of the Season candidate.
Both players have grown further since, with the former FEU star winning Best Player of the Conference honors in the recent Commissioner’s Cup and eventually helping the Kings take the crown by ousting TNT in seven.
“The impact RJ brings, he won the Best Player of the Conference this last conference,” Gomez de Liano said.
“He’s very smart, and he creates for others as well. I think we play really well together … Super excited.”
