Gilas 12 known Thursday

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas runs one final practice session Thursday then coach Chot Reyes makes the keenly awaited decision on the 12 men he leans on as they start their quest for another FIBA World Cup stint versus Japan at the Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo Friday.

The decision will be easier if Reyes opts to rest pool members with health woes.

Raymond Almazan is nursing an ankle sprain sustained in practice Sunday while Jayson Castro, Calvin Abueva and Kevin Alas have been in and out of training with their respective health problems.

In tip-top shapes are Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, Gabe Norwood, Allein Maliksi, Carl Bryan Cruz, RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Mac Belo and Kiefer Ravena.

But, of course, Reyes needs to form a balanced team to make sure to get past the Japanese and set the tone of their campaign for a return trip to the World Cup after their decent stint in the recent edition of the quadrennial meet in Spain in 2014.

With Terrence Romeo and Jio Jalalon left in Manila due to their own injuries, Reyes surely can’t afford to leave Castro out of the roster though not 100 percent healthy.

A versatile forward who provides tremendous energy, Abueva may also land a spot despite a slight sickness.

Others who may well be cinch to make the team are Blatche, Fajardo, Aguilar, Rosario, Norwood, Wright, Maliksi and Ravena.

 “Raymond Almazan has a severe sprain, Kevin Alas is under the weather. We were using Jayson (Castro) very sparingly because he’s not yet 100 percent. That are the issues that we have to contend with now,” said Reyes on a Sports5 interview shortly before leaving Manila.

“Hopefully we get to 100 percent, but right now we’re not 100 percent,” he added.

But despite their health problems, Reyes is confident of their chance against Japan Friday and against Chinese Taipei on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“The only problem is we could only go short spurts precisely because we’re nursing injuries to some guys. I’ve been around long enough to know that they will look good in short spurts, but the key is getting them to play that well on a longer basis,” said Reyes.

He’s thankful he’s got a pool of players still made available by their mother teams despite a conflict in the PBA board.

“Basically that’s the beauty of having a pool for situations that you can’t avoid – injuries, sickness,” he said.

And Reyes senses good vibes on the all-out effort each player is putting up in training.

“I like our chances because I can see despite the injuries and lack of time, I can see them putting a lot of effort in, and they’re very engaged,” he said.

The Asian WC qualifiers kick off Thursday with New Zealand hosting Korea in Wellington, China playing at home in Nanjing against Hong Kong while Lebanon enjoys the homecourt edge against India. Lebanon also hosts the Syria-Jordan setto.