30-man lineup for Asiad

It’s not certain if the Japanese B-League will release Filipinos on the Asian heritage list to play for Gilas at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games but coach Tim Cone still included Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips on the 30-man roster that was submitted to organizers in an early advice of entries by name.

Cone excluded Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao as the Korean Basketball League is reportedly holding back on Filipinos. Quiambao wasn’t allowed to join the Asian Games because of contractual commitments with the Goyang Sono Skygunners. Tamayo nearly got his clearance from the Changwon LG Sakers but when Goyang grounded Quiambao, permission was also withheld. Other KBL Filipinos like Arvin Tolentino, Rhenz Abando and SJ Belangel are not on the list.

There are reports that Japan won’t send its A-team to play at the Asian Games despite hosting the event. But with or without the A players, Japan will still bring in B-Leaguers although not in the senior category. The indication is the B-League will keep its Filipino imports in the freezer. Besides, Ramos and Edu are booked to play in the B-League exhibitions at the MOA Arena on Sept. 9 and 10. Ramos’ Levanga Hokkaido will play Edu’s Gunma Crane Thunders in two games. The series will be in direct conflict with the Asian Games schedule as the basketball competitions begin Sept. 10 and finish Sept. 20. The Asian Games are officially set on Sept. 19-Oct. 4 but basketball will start and end early.

Without the B-League players, Cone is left with 25 in the pool. Under Asian Games rules, only passports are required for eligibility regardless of when they were issued. This will allow Fil-foreigners and naturalized players free access to play. The naturalized players in Cone’s pool are Justin Brownlee, Bennie Boatwright and Ange Kouame. Malick Diouf isn’t on the list. Boatwright is awaiting final documentation of his naturalization and SBP hopes it will come on time.

Included on the list is Jamie Malonzo who is currently without a team. The other players are from 10 different PBA teams, excluding Titan and Terrafirma. From San Miguel Beer are June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Jerrick Ahanmisi and Don Trollano. From Ginebra are Scottie Thompson, Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos. From TNT are Calvin Oftana, Jordan Heading and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. From Converge are Justine Baltazar, Justin Arana and Juan Gomez de Liaño. From Rain or Shine are Adrian Nocum and Caelan Tiongson. From Meralco are Chris Newsome and Brandon Bates. Also in the cast are Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, NLEX’ Robert Bolick, Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero and Phoenix’ Jason Perkins.