Taulava, Williams, Mercado join Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams and Sol Mercado take their leave from their respective mother clubs beginning today to join the Smart Gilas squad in the final days of its preparations for the Asian Games.

“We’re very thankful to their PBA teams for allowing them to take a leave and help us in our Asian Games campaign,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman. “We’re excited to have them because they can help us with their experience.”

Taulava, Williams and Mercado had actually been training with the team for two months now although they show up just once or twice a week owing to their commitment to their respective mother teams.

The 6-9 Taulava even played for Smart Gilas in the FIBA Stankovic Cup in Beirut, Lebanon where the Filipinos wound up fourth despite fielding in a depleted roster.

Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes will also join the team as consultant.

Reyes and Williams, a former PBA MVP, will miss two games for the Phone Pals, so do Mercado and Taulava for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Meralco Bolts, respectively.

The 37-year-old Taulava also saw action for the Nationals in the Asian Games in 2002 in Busan, Korea while Williams and Mercado are seeing action in the quadrennial event for the first time.

Mercado’s stint, as well as that of fellow Fil-Am Chris Lutz, remains unsure since their Asiad accreditation will only be decided upon by the GAGOC (Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee) today.

“We’re still awaiting their decision but we’re confident they would allow them (Mercado and Lutz) to play,” said Toroman.

He said he would only announce the 12-man roster in Guangzhou on Nov. 10.

“Unless they make the decision early, we’ll make the announcement of the official lineup there,” said the Serbian mentor.

Co-skippers Chris Tiu and Mark Barroca head the squad that includes JV Casio, Mac Baracael, Greg Slaughter, Dylan Ababou, Jason Ballesteros, Japeth Aguilar, Aldrech Ramos and Fil-Am Marcio Lassiter.

Taulava, Williams and Mercado will play their first game together with the rest of the team when they face the Guangdong Tigers on Nov. 10 and Dongguan Century Leopards Nov. 11.

The Philippines, Kuwait, India, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Mongolia are battling for the four slots in the main group, to be divided into two.

The first group is composed of Asian powerhouse Iran, Qatar, Japan and Chinese Taipei while the other is led by Asian champion China, South Korea, Jordan and Uzbekistan.