By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) just unveiled the 28-man lineup of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) this coming May 2023.
After 13-straight years of basketball dominance in Southeast Asia, the Filipinos are eager to bounce back and recapture the gold medal after falling at the hands of Indonesia during the last edition of the biennial sports tournament.
In an unusual basketball game where Filipinos were used to seeing their men’s basketball team climb up the middle of the podium, head coach Chot Reyes and Gilas were stunned by Indonesia during the gold medal clash that put an end to their SEA Games domination since 1991.
The Filipino hoopers played catch-up from the get-go and could only watch as the rejuvenated Indonesian team sank their long three-point bombs while playing flawless half-court sets for four quarters.
Now with a deeper and balanced lineup, the SBP together with its coaching staff are confident that they will get that gold medal back.
Leading the 28-man lineup of Gilas is newly-naturalized Filipino import Justin Brownlee, the resident reinforcement of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Also on the list is the PBA’s only six-time Most Valuable Player (MVP), June Mar Fajardo, who was dominant during their silver medal finish last SEA Games.
The current super scorer of the TNT Tropang Giga, Mikey Williams, is also included in the list and is expected to bring instant offense once his number got called up.
San Miguel Beermen’s super backcourt duo of Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter will also reinforce the squad and will act as locker room leaders to the mixed young-veteran team.
Completing the cast are Jeremiah Gray, Roger Pogoy, Michael and Ben Phillips, Mason Amos, Jerom Lastimosa, Brandon Rosser, Deschon Winston, AJ Edu, CJ Perez, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle, Calvin Oftana, JP Erram, Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, Aaron Black, Arvin Tolentino, Kevin Alas, and Kevin Quiambao.
“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,” said SBP president Al Panlilio.
