David, Rosario still fighting for Gilas spots

MANILA, Philippines – World Cup veteran Gary David and incoming PBA rookie Troy Rosario will continue to be part of the training pool though missing out the 12-man Gilas Pilipinas roster submitted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to FIBA Asia Tuesday.

Jimmy Alapag is out due to a quad injury while Andrech Ramos and Moala Tautuaa have returned to their PBA mother ball clubs.

“We named the 12 because FIBA requires it but there still could be changes. There could be injuries. Anything can happen. Gary and Troy are still fighting for consideration,” said coach Tab Baldwin after practice Thursday morning.

David joined the workout while Alapag showed up to personally tell his teammates he’s now staying on the sideline due to his injury.

Rosario and assistant coach Jong Uichico missed the Gilas morning session as they instead attended the Talk n Text practice. The Texters will be Gilas Pilipinas’ first match in the three-day MVP Cup starting on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“You’re going to have the support of 100 million people all over the world. They might not be there in person but they’ll be there in spirit. I’ll be one of them. You have my full support and everybody else’s full support,” Alapag told his teammates in the huddle after practice.

“It’s very frustrating in the sense that opportunities to represent our country are rare. Injuries are tough but they are tougher when it’s for Gilas,” Alapag also said.

“Time was just not on our side from Day 1. Ultimately, I just didn’t have enough time for my body to heal. I’m still going to support the guys this weekend and even try to make arrangements to watch the knockout stages of the FIBA Asia,” he added.

Baldwin, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to Alapag and the whole group. He said: “All the guys who answered the call, we have unending gratitude for all of them.”

Coming from a strong second-place finish in the Jones Cup, the group was upbeat and enthusiastic as they started their last two weeks of buildup for the FIBA Asia. 

“We just haven’t had enough of practices like this,” said Baldwin.

“Specifically we’re not thinking about the MVP Cup. We’re thinking about improving as a team and hopefully it translates to good games for us this weekend,” Baldwin also said. "We’re looking forward to seeing the home crowd. Letting the Filipino fans see their team, not just on TV. I think that will be exciting for the players and Hopefully, it will be exciting for all our kababayans.”

It’s easy to speculate David was the last cut in the Final 12, losing the wing spot to Dondon Hontiveros and JC Intal.

Alapag is injured while Rosario and Ramos still need to improve to beat out Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Ranidel de Ocampo and Marc Pingris in the frontline spots.

The critical choice could well be the two among Hontiveros, Intal and David.

Hontiveros, 38, has been to many international wars, the first one all the way back to 2002 in the Busan Asian Games.

Intal, 31, has never played beyond Southeast Asian level of play but is coming off a breakthrough season in the local pro league.

David was a second-string gunner behind Jeff Chan in the previous Gilas team. He'd been to two Jones Cup, the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, two FIBA Asia Cups, the 2014 World Cup and the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.