BASKETBALL: All-PBA squad to defend Asian Games gold as overseas pros unavailable

MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas will bank on an all-PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) team to retain the gold medal in the 20th Asian Games.

National coach Tim Cone officially announced that none among the overseas Filipino players will join the Philippine contingent in Nagoya, Japan for the Sept. 10 to 20 basketball wars.

Out of the Asiad are Gilas Pilipinas regulars Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Quentin Millora-Brown, Jamie Malonzo, Kai Sotto, Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao.

“None of the Japan and Korean players can play in the Asian Games, so we just decided to pretty much bring an all-PBA contingent to the Asiad, along with Justin (Brownlee),” Cone said on the final playdate of the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations Friday before taking a nine-week break for the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers later this month and the Asiad.

Naturalized player candidate Bennie Boatwright is in consideration, but it depends on whether he can secure his Philippine passport prior to the tournament.

“So aside from that, it’s going to be Justin and an all-PBA team,” Cone said.

In the 2023 Hangzhou, China Games, Cone steered Gilas Pilipinas to the championship, beating Jordan in the finale, 70-60, to end the Philippines’ 61-year gold medal drought.

The campaign was made memorable by the stunning upset of host China in the semifinals, with Gilas battling back from a 20-point deficit behind the hot-shooting hands of Brownlee to escape, 77-76.

The triumph also ended Gilas' run of missing out on a medal dating back to 1998 Bangkok when the Centennial Team took bronze. The Chot Reyes-mentored squad was composed of Johnny Abarrientos, Marlou Aquino, Allan Caidic, Kenneth Duremdes, Dennis Espino, E.J. Feihl, Jojo Lastimosa, Jun Limpot, Noli Locsin, Alvin Patrimonio, Olsen Racela, Andy Seigle and 13th man Jeffrey Cariaso.

"The Filipino heart, the Filipino pride … there is nothing like it. We displayed it in this tournament. We were down in some games, and we were up, and then we came back. The Filipino heart toughened us up a lot, especially in this gold medal game," Brownlee said then.

Cone hinted some members of the 2023 team may not be back as new faces will be incorporated into the Gilas Pilipinas core.

The team will start its practices on Monday and leave for South Korea on Sept. 3 to play a pair of friendlies with the national team, before heading straight to Nagoya.

Gilas is bracketed in Pool C with China, Kazakhstan, and Bahrain. (PBA Media/PNA)