Gilas Pilipinas seeing action in the PBA remains a possibility.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the league is open to adding the national team in its activities for the 46th season, which will finally begin next week following the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
“Depende rin sa pag-uusapan namin ni SBP president Al Panlilio kung makakalaro ang Gilas,” the fourth-year league chief said in a virtual presser Friday, exactly a week from the much-awaited July 16 opening in Pasig.
Asia’s pioneering pro league, last February, expressed its desire to bring in the new-age Filipino dribblers as a guest team in the first conference. The move is part of their commitment to help the Gilas program in any way they can.
This isn’t the first time that the PBA has opened its doors to Gilas. The program’s pioneering batch, mentored by Rajko Toroman, first saw action in the 2009-10 Philippine Cup. It then returned in the 2011 Commissioner’s Cup.
This time, though, Marcial said that they remain unsure whether the Nationals will play one full conference or just a number of games.
“Kahit hindi buong conference, o kahit pailan-ilan — mga six or seven games. Depende sa pag-uusapan namin, at depende sa programa ng SBP,” he said.
Gilas is currently under the tutelage of program director and head coach Tab Baldwin. The team is coming off a pair of remarkable showings in the past weeks.
The youth-laden crew swept the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ third window in Clark — highlighted by two wins over South Korea. Following that, it gave Serbia and the Dominican Republic tough battles in the OQT in Belgrade.
Gilas will return to practice in a couple of weeks to prepare for the Asia Cup proper in Jakarta, Indonesia in August 16-28.
