The San Miguel Beermen five of June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, and Christian Standhardinger were finally together on the hard court of the Meralco Gym, Friday evening.
Standhardinger missed the first Gilas Piilipinas practice last Monday after suffering from a bum stomach. Two days later, Cabagnot could not make it to Pasig, as he attended to his duties as an assistant coach with the UP Fighting Maroons.
Now, they are complete.
The San Miguel quintet were joined by Ricci Rivero, Gabe Norwood, JP Erram, Troy Rosario, Jayson Castro, Beau Belga, and Matthew Wright.
Kai Sotto missed his first practice, as the Ateneo Blue Eaglets have a game on Sunday.
Coach Yeng Guiao was also not around as he had a business trip. The practice is being headed by lead assistant coach Caloy Garcia.
LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, and Greg Slaughter of Ginebra, and Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang of Magnolia missed the practice, as Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals is taking place at the Ynares Center.
Stanley Pringle is still in the States.
The team is preparing for the upcoming fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Gilas will host Kazakhstan and Iran on November 30 and December 3 respectively, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With a current win-loss record of 5-3, the team seeks to maintain a top three position in Group F to book a ticket to the big dance in China next year.
Beforehand, though, Guiao’s men will have friendlies against Jordan and Lebanon to prepare themselves for the Kazakhstan and Iran fixtures.
The Nationals face Jordan on November 19 and 21, followed by Lebanon on November 23 and 25. All four games will be played at the Meralco Gym.
