Chot keeps options open on AG list

MANILA, Philippines -  Philippine national basketball team coach Chot Reyes said yesterday he’s not in a rush to submit Gilas’ final 12-man lineup to the Asian Games Organizing Committee as the deadline won’t be until a day or two before the start of the competitions.

Reyes called Gilas’ first practice last Saturday since arriving from the FIBA World Cup in Spain. Paul Lee was absent but came the next day. Japeth Aguilar missed last Sunday’s session after showing up the previous day. Jayson Castro reported and was scheduled to undergo an MRI on his knee yesterday.

“We can’t go full-court because guys are still recovering from Spain,” said Reyes. “We won’t do any practice games so as not to expose our guys to injuries. We’re keeping our options open as to our final lineup. We won’t be asked to submit our 12-man roster until Sept. 18 or 19. The lineup will depend on who’s healthy. Jayson might still be able to join. Ping (Marc Pingris) isn’t 100 percent but hopefully, he’ll be ready for Incheon.”

Gilas leaves for the Asian Games on Sept. 20 and will play its first game against the leader of the Group B qualifying round at the 5,158-seat Hwaseong Sports Complex in Incheon on Sept. 23. Group B consists of Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Palestine and India. Likely to be the Philippines’ first opponent is Kazakhstan. Then, the Philippines battles Iran on Sept. 25. The top two finishers among the Philippines, Iran and the Group B leader will advance to the quarterfinal round along with the top two placers of three other brackets. The eight quarterfinalists will be split into two groups of four with the top two finishers of each bracket moving on to the knockout semifinals. The semifinal winners will play for the gold medal at the 7,406-seat Samsan World Gym on Oct. 3.

If the Philippines makes it to the quarterfinals, Gilas’ games will be played on Sept. 26, 27, and 28. The semifinals will be played on Oct. 1.

Reyes said he’d like to keep the opposing teams guessing on Gilas’ final lineup. “We’ll hold off sending our 12-man list until the absolute deadline so other teams won’t know whom we’re playing,” he said. “Andray (Blatche) has been ruled out by the Organizing Committee. We’re allowed to replace players because of medical reasons until the last deadline but the replacements must come from the initial list earlier submitted.” Unlike in FIBA tournaments, the Asian Games will allow replacements at no cost.

Reyes previously sent in a lineup of 19 players to the Organizing Committee, namely, Jimmy Alapag, L. A. Tenorio, Jeff Chan, Castro, Gary David, Larry Fonacier, Ranidel de Ocampo, Gabe Norwood, JuneMar Fajardo, Aguilar, Pingris, Marcus Douthit, Beau Belga, Jared Dillinger, Lee, Blatche, Jay Washington, Garvo Lanete and Matt Ganuelas. Two weeks ago, Reyes announced a list of 12 for Incheon, namely Castro, Tenorio, David, Chan, Norwood, Pingris, De Ocampo, Aguilar, Fajardo, Lee, Dillinger and Blatche.

After the FIBA World Cup, Reyes invited Alapag to postpone his plan of retiring from international competition and play in Incheon. Alapag agreed, taking over the injured Castro’s slot for the moment. With Blatche’s disqualification, Douthit was tapped as Gilas’ naturalized player. The final 12-man lineup must come only from the 19 players initially submitted.

Gilas listed 14 officials to accompany the team in Incheon, namely, Reyes, assistant coaches Norman Black, Josh Reyes, Joseph Uichico, Nash Racela and Ryan Gregorio, team manager Aboy Castro, conditioning coach Dexter Aseron, utility Bong Tulabot, Smart marketing officer Yvette Ruiz, SBP deputy executive director for international affairs Butch Antonio, logistics manager Andrew Teh, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios and SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan.

Reyes said he’s not ruling out Castro from playing at the Asian Games. “Let’s see what the MRI tells us,” he said. “We’ve got a few more days to decide on who’s going.” Reyes said Gilas will travel only with a 12-man squad. Reserves will not come along unlike in Spain because they’ll be recalled back to practice by their mother PBA teams.

Reyes said with Blatche’s disqualification, he won’t be joining the team to Incheon as originally planned. Blatche is now focusing on finalizing an NBA contract for this season. His performance in Spain has generated a lot of interest from NBA coaches and the word is the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets are looking into the possibility of signing him.

The Philippines won the gold medal in basketball at the first four stagings of the Asian Games in 1951, 1954, 1958 and 1962. China has claimed the title in seven of the last nine jousts since 1978. The last medal taken by the Philippines was a bronze with coach Tim Cone’s Centennial squad beating Kazakhstan, 73-68, in the playoff for third in 1998. The Philippines’ last finals appearance was in 1990 when coach Sonny Jaworski piloted the national team to the silver medal.