All-amateur Gilas Pilipinas cadets that competed in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last November enter “Calambubble” on Sunday at the Inspire Sports Academy located in Calamba, Laguna.

According to a statement by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Special Assistant to the President Ryan Gregorio on Sunday: “The first batch heading into the training ‘bubble’ includes 2019 PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) Rookie Draft selections Isaac Go, Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto and Rey Suerte, who will be joined by Javi Gomez de Liaño, Dave Ildefonso, Justine Baltazar, Calvin Oftana, William Navarro and Kenmark Cariño.”

Also joining the rest of the Gilas Pilipinas team are naturalized player candidate Angelo Kouame and NLEX Road Warriors star guard Kiefer Ravena. Dwight Ramos and Juan Gomez de Liaño are also scheduled to soon follow their teammates.

“These young men have not only proven their dedication to the Gilas program but have also shown their capability to work well as a team as we saw in the two games against Thailand in the last window,” SBP president Al Panlilio said in a statement. “I’m thankful for their commitment as we continue to lay the foundation for the team we will form in 2023.”

Meanwhile, Jaydee Tungcab and Allyn Bulanadi will not be joining training this time around. The former is reportedly set to compete in Japan’s B.League and is still waiting for his Japanese visa. The latter is scheduled to undergo medical surgery for an injury to his right shoulder which he sustained in October of last year.

The Gilas Pilipinas team is preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ third and final window which will be held in Clark, Pampanga this February 2021. The country will play host and is scheduled to face South Korea on February 18 and 22 and Indonesia on February 20.

(Source – The Manila Times)

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