Rosario, Vosotros to boost SEABA-bound Gilas cadets

MANILA, Philippines – PBA rookies Troy Rosario and Almond Vosotros, key players of the gold-medal winning Philippine team in the last SEA Games, are once again serving duty to the national quintet, reinforcing the Gilas Cadet team that competes in the 2016 SEABA Stankovic Cup from May 22-28 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nash Racela calls the shots for the team composed mostly of the core players of the UAAP champion team FEU Tamaraws.

Tams Mark Belo, Russel Escoto, Ken Holmqvist, Raymar Jose, Roger Pogoy and Cris Michael Tolomia team up with Rosario, Vosotros, Kevin Ferrer, Jiovani Jalalon, Von Pessumal and Jonas Raphael Tibayan.

Racela is backed up by Michael Oliver and Josh Reyes in the tourney that serves as the qualifying tourney for the FIBA Asia Challenge Cup in Iran in September.

Even with a short preparation that started only this month, the Philippines is fancied to win the event versus Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the host team.

The team leaves the country Friday and plays its first game versus Malaysia two days later.

Next up for Team Phl is Singapore on May 24, Indonesia on May 25 then Thailand on May 26. The gold-medal game is set May 28.

Rosario, Belo, Vosotros, Jalalon and Ferrer are holdovers from the 2015 SEA Games team of coach Tab Baldwin.

Meanwhile, Tibayan, from Chiang Kai Shek College, is a recruit from the Batang Gilas team that’s fresh from a dominant title run in the SEABA U-18 championship.