The ‘bad boys’ of Gilas Pilipinas have returned to the national team.
Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva were present during the Philippines’ first practice for the 19th Asian Games held at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The last time the duo were part of Gilas was during the infamous Gilas-Boomers brawl at the Philippine Arena.
Romeo and Abueva were the sparkplugs of Chot Reyes’ Gilas team during the 2010s.
Since then, both have joined the San Miguel Corporation, with Romeo playing for San Miguel and Abueva playing for Magnolia.
Also called up were San Miguel’s Mo Tautuaa, Ginebra’s Stanley Pringle, and Phoenix’s Jason Perkins.
June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and Scottie Thompson, who were part of the FIBA Basketball World Cup team, are also part of the roster.
The final cuts for the World Cup team Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana complete cast that attended Tim Cone’s first official practice as head coach of the team since the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The Philippines will also field two naturalized players, Justin Brownlee and Angelo Kouame, for the continental meet.
Roger Pogoy was present but was in street clothes and left the practice early. He will return in a couple of days, said Tim Cone.
Gilas will face Bahrain on the 26th, Thailand on the 28th, and Jordan on the 30th, with the top two teams in Group C advancing to the knockout playoffs.
