More players from the Philippine Basketball Association have committed to joining Gilas Pilipinas for their upcoming campaign in the 19th Asian Games in China.
Three players from the MVP group have confirmed their participation in the team: TNT’s Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana, along with Meralco’s Chris Newsome.
This trio will join Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, and Japeth Aguilar.
Gilas team manager Alfrancis Chua announced this development during Thursday’s edition of CNN Sportsdesk.
“I heard sa MVP Group lalaro rin sila Pogoy, Newsome, at Oftana. Alam nila gaano kaimportante ito.
“Right now, hirap kami. As of now, meron kami six to eight players lang,” said Chua.
Pogoy previously played in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, averaging 6.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Oftana and Newsome were the final cuts from the team.
Oftana played in six games for Gilas during the last cycle, while Newsome participated in two.
Currently, Chua admitted that he and head coach Tim Cone are struggling to fill the 12 slots as some players are still on vacation, preparing for the PBA season.
Adding to the difficulty is the unavailability of some players listed in the Entry by Name list submitted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to the Philippine Olympic Committee, which was then transmitted to the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Organizing Committee.
“Yung sinubmit nila na names before, mga iba dun, wala sa list e. Mag-rerequest pa kami kung papayag yung Asian Games. This is totally a different team. Mawawala yung mga naglalaro sa Japan at Korea, tapos wala si Clarkson. Totally diffirent ito,” admitted Chua.
That’s why Chua is hopeful that they can find the remaining pieces needed to clear their eligibility.
“Sana lang yung players na gusto namin ni Tim, payagan nila.”
