Gilas young guns face acid test

MANILA, Philippines — The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is looking to give the young guns their day in the sun as Gilas Pilipinas takes part in the initial skirmishes of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers next month.

A total of 13 collegiate stars fill up the 24-man pool called up by the SBP for the two opening matches against Thailand and Indonesia on Feb. 20 and 23, respectively. It will be the youngsters’ baptism of fire in a major international competition kicking off their earnest buildup for the 2023 FIBA World Cup the country is co-hosting.

“For the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifier, we are looking to expose our younger players and build an up-tempo team,” SBP president Al Panlilio said in a statement yesterday.

“As we said in the past, this is a development plan for the national team in preparation for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup,” he added.

Leading the fresh legs are PBA rookie draftees Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte and Allyn Bulanadi, Ateneo stalwart Thirdy Ravena, UP’s Jaydee Tungcab, Kobe Paras and Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano. 

Dave Ildefonso, Dwight Ramos and Justin Baltazar round out the youth brigade to be beefed up by pros Poy Erram, RR Pogoy, Ray Parks, Kiefer Ravena, Japeth Aguilar, Christian Standhardinger, CJ Perez, Mac Belo, Matthew Wright, Troy Rosario and balik-Gilas Marc Pingris.

“It’s the early days of our program so we want to test the youngsters who may be deserving of a shot in future big tournaments,” Panlilio said.

At the same time, the SBP exec said this will allow Gilas regular June Mar Fajardo to take a breather from international sorties after a long season where he chased a grand slam for San Miguel, suited up in the World Cup in China and debuted in the Southeast Asian Games.

Panlilio, who’s also Meralco’s governor in the PBA, maintained the 6-foot-10 behemoth remains a vital cog in the Gilas program.

“We all know what we can get from June Mar Fajardo as he has proven himself time and again on the international stage. He has served Gilas for so long and will continue to be part of the program,” said the SBP chief.

“However, at this stage, we believe that he deserves the extended break. The wear and tear of chasing a PBA grand slam and spending his off days with the San Miguel Beermen and playing for Gilas will take a toll on anyone,” he added.

The SBP looks forward to seeing Fajardo in action again for the bigger battles ahead.

“He will in fact be at his peak form when the WC2023 comes along. He’ll even be an eight-time PBA MVP by that time. We will need his dominance and his international experience,” said Panlilio.