By REYNALD MAGALLON
Two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Kacey Dela Rosa along with other collegiate stars are set to boost the Gilas Pilipinas lineup for Division A action of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup which will fire off in Shenzhen, China on Sunday, July 13.
Joining the Dela Rosa in the final lineup released by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas are UAAP Season 87 Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP Cielo Pagdulagan as well as Kent Pastrana and Angel Surada.
They will be tasked to try and fill in the roles of mainstays Janine Pontejos, Afril Bernardino and Chack Cabinbin who will not be in the lineup for the Asia Cup due to their duties in the Army.
Without the three, much of the load now also falls to the shoulders of Vanessa de Jesus and Jack Animam as well as the holdovers from the team that recently saw action in the 2025 Jones Cup in Taiwan.
Naomi Panganiban, Louna Ozar, Yvette Villanueva, Sumayah Sugapong, Ella Fajardo and Khate Castillo were also retained from the team that finished fifth in the Jones Cup.
The Nationals will try to finish inside the Top 6 of the continent tiff to assure themselves a spot in the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Gilas, however, faces an uphill climb in the group stage after being drawn with world powerhouses Japan and Australia, as well as Lebanon in Group B.
Top team in the group will get an outright spot to the semifinals while the second and third seed squads will figure in a crossover duel with the other teams from Group A for the last two semis spots.
Gilas opens its tournament against Australia on July 13 before facing up against Japan the next day. The team will get a day’s rest before wrapping up the elimination schedule against Lebanon on the 16th.
