Chot bares Gilas 12 for FIBA Asia Cup

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will be fielding a new iteration of the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team when they head to Lebanon for the FIBA Asia Cup next month.

In a Twitter posting on Tuesday night, head coach Chot Reyes unveiled a new combination of 12 players that will see action in the regional tournament.

Among the new faces in the squad penciled as a unit for higher-level competitions are Filipino-German Christian Standardhinger and cadet Carl Bryan Cruz.

Reprising their roles from the SEABA Championships and the recently-conlcuded Jones Cup are Jiovani Jalalon, Matthew Wright and RR Pogoy.

12 men; 12 practices; hopefully for 12 days in Beirut #LabanPilipinasPuso pic.twitter.com/AIrfSKO2GV

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) July 25, 2017

Naturalized big man Andray Blatche is noticeably out of the lineup. Although FIBA World Cup veteran Gabe Norwood was called for another tour of duty.

The FIBA Asia Cup, which will run from August 8 to 20 in Beirut, will pit the Philippines against Asian powerhouse China, Qatar and the unranked Iraq.