There will be four PBA draftees doing double duties until 2023.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes announced that Justin Arana, Gian Mamuyac, Shaun Ildefonso, and Javi Gomez de Liaño have been selected as part of the national team’s pool in its buildup for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Unlike the last two iterations of the Gilas Draft, the four players can play for the team that drafts them and will only be pooled out of their teams during FIBA competitions.
“Arana, Ildefonso, Gomez De Liano and Mamuyac remain part of the PBA Annual Draft. They can be picked and signed by any of the 12 PBA teams,” said Reyes via Zoom from Hanoi.
“They will be on standby when the need arise.”
Mamuyac and Gomez de Liaño will be making their returns to the national team.
Mamuyac, a 6-foot-1 do-it-all winger, previously suited up for Gilas Youth during the mid-2010s. He averaged 7.29 points, 2.86 rebounds, 1.29 assists, and 1.07 steals in his final elimination round in the UAAP.
(C) B.League
Meanwhile, Gomez de Liaño was part of Gilas’ pool in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Gomez de Liaño, a 6-foot-5 deadeye shooter, played for Ibaraki in the B.League last season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.2 rebounds.
Both Arana and Ildefonso are making their national team debuts.
Arana, a towering 6-foot-7 big man out of Arellano, averaged 14.78 points, 17.11 rebounds, 2.78 blocks, and 1.44 assists in his final year.
Ildefonso is a bruising 6-foot-2 winger out of National University. He normed 6.14 points and 2.86 rebounds in his fifth year with the Bulldogs.
The quartet joins William Navarro in the Gilas Cadets program.
Back in 2019, Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, and the Nieto twins were part of the Gilas draft.
Two years later, Navarro, Jordan Heading, Jaydee Tungcab, and Tzaddy Rangel were selected in the pool.
All but Navarro and Heading are in the PBA.
