They all practiced together on Monday.
Coach Tim Cone is not about to waste any time leading up to the Asian Games as this new iteration of the Gilas Pilipinas squad got together for a practice on Monday at the PhilSports Arena.
A total of 13 players were present. This included FIBA World Cup players June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, and RR Pogoy. Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana, Gilas’ final cuts before the World Cup, were also in the training session.
The country’s two remaining naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame were also there, alongside other PBA standouts Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, Mo Tautuaa, Jason Perkins, and Stanley Pringle—who have all worn the Gilas blue-and-white in previous 5-on-5 or 3x3 tournaments.
Cone is “pleased with the talent he has under his disposal” according to an article on the PBA website, however, the finality of the lineup is yet to be determined.
The status of Abueva and Perkins are still up in the air as they were not part of the 60-man list that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) initially submitted to the organizers of the Hangzhou Asiad.
With the injuries to Jamie Malonzo and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, SBP is set to appeal to replace them with Abueva and Perkins.
Given the situation, Coach Tim is looking at Pringle to function as an insurance policy.
“Stanley is here as an alternate, as a 13th man. He's an alternate if anything happens, in case Calvin and Perk can't make it. He'll be one of the guys that we'll place in the lineup or in case somebody gets injured as such," Cone said in the PBA website article.
Pringle already plays for Tim Cone and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, which gives him a plus when it comes to understanding the coach’s schemes.
"He's here because he knows the system. He's the logical choice for us and he's willing to be here with the idea that he may not make the (final) 12 but at this point, he's an alternate," Cone added.
The Asian Games are set to start on the 23rd of September. Expect Cone and his GIlas wards to up the ante moving forward.