Due to the present circumstances, Justine Baltazar finally made his long-awaited return after being named part of the Gilas Pilipinas lineup bound for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers’ third window next week.
And expectations are high for the Converge big man after wowing the coaching staff during their previous training camp—Tim Cone himself included,
“He’s a player with a high ceiling, and we’re hoping that he can play at that high ceiling,” the veteran mentor said during the Nationals’ send-off presser hosted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas at the FilOil Center, Monday.
Gilas called up Baltazar to be part of its training camp roster for Window 2 last February, and although he wasn’t ultimately included, the brain trust was impressed with the versatility he offers for the present-day men’s team.
So when important pieces like Kai Sotto and Quentin Millora-Brown excused themselves for the June 29-July 6 competitions, the staff never looked anywhere else and opted to go with the De La Salle University product.
With that, the budding Kapampangan star finds himself suiting up for the men’s squad for the first time since the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.
“Balti, Justine… we know him from the last window. We had him through the whole camp, and he impressed us there,” remembered Cone.
“And when we lost a couple of our bigs in Q and Kai, we looked around, tried to find someone who’d be a versatile big that we could throw at different positions,” he added, as Baltazar had been trained to become a wing in the past.
There’s pressure, no doubt, being spoken in such a regard by no less than Cone, but the 29-year-old Baltazar is just glad to have been invited once more.
And he’s embracing being a “new guy” in this current iteration of Gilas, being a sponge in trying to absorb all that he can about the new system in place.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa pag-invite uli sa akin. Noong last game nila, kumbaga baguhan pa lang ako, pero andun pa rin ako sumusuporta and always ready lang talaga ako. Malaking pasalamat ko na nakasama ako sa Final 12,” he said.
