SIX-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and naturalized player Justin Brownlee lead the 28-man pool named as part of the Philippine men's team seeking to regain the basketball gold in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia this May.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) disclosed the list of players it submitted under the Entry By Name (EBN) category to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) as part of its initial preparations for the May 5-17 showcase.
Others named in the pool are Fajardo's San Miguel teammates CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Ross, Brownlee's fellow kings Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle Jr, and Jeremiah Gray, TNT's Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, John Paul Erram, and Mikey Williams, the Meralco trio of Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, and Aaron Black, NLEX duo of Kevin Alas and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Arvin Tolentino of NorthPort.
College players included in the pool are Mason Amos, Kevin Quiambao. Jerom Lastimosa, Deschon Winston, Benjamin Phillips III and Michael Phillips, and Ariel John Edu.
Chot Reyes will call the shots for the team.
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Only Fajardo and Pogoy was with the team that lost the battle for gold against Indonesia, 85-81, during last year's edition of the SEA Games in Vietnam.
The loss ended the country's 52-game winning streak in the biennial meet dating back to 1997.
Gilas is now on a mission to reclaim its lost glory.
"That moment is upon us, and we're not leaving any stone unturned in our overall bid to regain basketball grloy in our region," said SBP president Al Panlilio.
"What we've gone through after that fateful day in Hanoi, both the wins and the losses in the various tournaments that followed, are in effect, geared also toward bringing the SEA Games gold medal back to our shores," Panlilio added.
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"And once Gilas assembles and starts practice for the competition in Cambodia, I expect nothing else but 100 percent effort and serious resolve in sending the most competitive national team possible to do the job of winning back the gold. That is our commitment to our basketball-loving countrymen." (RG)
