WITH the FIBA World Cup draw done, Gilas Pilipinas temporarily shifts focus on the 2023 Southeast Asian Games where the Nationals embark on a redeem mission starting May 9 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Christian Standhardinger, the Best Player in the recent PBA Governors' Cup, leads 10 PBA players who made themselves available in the Gilas' camp at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
The others are CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross of San Miguel Beer, Calvin Oftana of TNT, Chris Newsome and Aaron Black of Meralco, Jeremiah Gray of Barangay Ginebra, Brandon Ganuelas Rosser of NLEX and Arvin Tolentino of NorthPort.
Resident Ginebra import and now Gilas naturalized player Justine Brownlee is also in the camp along with Mason Amos, Jerom Lastimosa and Michael and Ben Phillips.
June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, Mikey Williams and Scottie Thompson are among aces not available at the moment, and it isn't clear whether someone more is joining the pool.
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Gilas submits the final 12-man lineup for the Cambodia joust during the technical committee meeting on May 7.
But whoever will be with him, coach Chot Reyes vows to go out there and battle to reclaim the crown they lost in Hanoi last year.
At the same time, Reyes isn't taking anything for granted, noting a rule that allows unlimited naturalized imports with passports.
The Gilas Redeem Team starts its SEAG campaign on May 9 with a Pool A opening assignment against lightweight Malaysia.
The Nationals look for a flying start in the 1 p.m. tiff at the Morodok Techo National Stadium Elephant Hall 2 in Cambodia as they also mark their first SEAG appearance since suffering a shocking 85-81 loss to Indonesia in the virtual battle for the gold last year in Vietnam.
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Reyes' troops later face host Cambodia (May 11) and Singapore (May 13) in what's largely considered a lighter group in the eight-day hostilities.
The Indonesians are bunched with bronze medalist Thailand, fourth placer Vietnam and Laos in battle royale in Pool B.
The top two squads in each bracket advance to the semifinal stage set for May 15 with the medal rounds set the following day. (SB)
