Troy Rosario’s return to Gilas Pilipinas will have to wait.
The veteran internationalist was the tough cut the coaches had to make in finalizing the Philippines’ 12-man lineup for their opening game against Chinese Taipei in Window 3 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Thursday.
Rosario was called up to fill the void left by Kai Sotto, who is out due to an ACL tear. However, he also suffered a minor knee injury during Barangay Ginebra’s PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal series against Meralco.
The 33-year-old was advised by the team’s medical staff to rest for five to seven days, which is why he was sidelined during Gilas’ recent campaign in the 2nd Doha International Cup in Qatar.
Despite traveling with the team to Taiwan, Rosario was not included in the official squad announced by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on its social media channels a day before the game against Chinese Taipei.
Making their return to the national team, however, are Jamie Malonzo and young center AJ Edu. Both were included in the compact pool for the previous window last November but were not fielded by head coach Tim Cone.
Edu had suffered a knee injury during Nagasaki’s loss to Akita in the B.League just days before Window 2. He is expected to suit up for Gilas for the first time since the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Manila.
(C) Inspire Sports Academy
Malonzo, on the other hand, will be donning the Pilipinas jersey for the first time in a year. His last appearance was in the Qualifiers’ opening window on February 22, 2023, when he helped lead the Filipino dribblers to a 94-64 road win against Hong Kong.
The duo will join Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, and Carl Tamayo as they battle a vengeful Taiwanese squad.
Game time is set for 7:00 PM at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, with Gilas preparing for retaliation from a Chinese Taipei team eager for payback after suffering a crushing 106-53 defeat at the Philsports Arena in Window 1.
Already assured of a spot in the tournament proper in Saudi Arabia this August, the Philippines enters Window 3 with a perfect 4-0 record and is determined to finish the Qualifiers unscathed.
Following their match against Chinese Taipei, Cone and company will fly to Auckland to face New Zealand at the Spark Arena on February 23.
This highly-anticipated rematch comes after Gilas’ stunning upset of the Tall Blacks last November.
