With the Gilas Pilipinas XII for the 2017 SEABA Championship completed, the real work for the team begins. And the 12 players will be pulled out from their club teams starting Monday, May 1.
“Yes, starting Monday full training [na],” Reyes said after Gilas’ 122-111 win over the PBA Luzon All-Stars.
“They’ll be pulled out from their mother ball clubs.”
Out of all the PBA teams, TNT will take the worst hit, as Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario, and Roger Pogoy will not suit up for them again until after May 19. Star will lose two rotation players in Jiovani Jalalon and Allein Maliksi while Ginebra, Globalport, San Miguel, Rain or Shine, Phoenix and Alaska will lose one player. each
For the sacrifices the teams will make, the 53-year-old is grateful to all the teams and the PBA, as the teams are in the midst of the most crucial part of playoff positioning.
“I’d like to thank the opportunity to thank the PBA and their mother ball clubs as well because obviously, the absence of these players will be a big sacrifice for their PBA clubs,” Reyes stated.
“I’m very happy that everyone is pulling together for the country’s sake.”
Moreover, 11 of the 12 players competing in SEABA will play together for the first time on Sunday when they face the Visayas All-Stars in Cebu.