By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has released an expanded Gilas Pilipinas pool for the FIBA 2027 World Cup Asian Qualifiers set to begin in November.
Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos, naturalized player Ange Kouame and the newly re-classified local big man Quentin Millora-Brown were named as part of the 16-man pool released by the federation on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Still part of the pool, of course, is the Gilas 12 that saw action in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia where the Nationals finished seventh.
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee banners the crew along with fellow PBA players June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana and Chris Newsome.
Injured 7-foot-3 center Kai South also remains a foundational piece of the team heading into the qualifying windows along with overseas players Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao and Jamie Malonzo.
Familiarity to the triangle isn’t expected to be a problem especially with Abarrientos and Kouame as they have been attending Gilas practices during buildups.
“Continuity is still the main priority of coach Tim Cone but we saw it fit to add a couple of pieces to the training pool,” said SBP President Al Panlilio in a statement.
“Obviously, Justin will still be the top choice in terms of having a naturalized player in the lineup but we need to take advantage of actually having multiple naturalized players.”
Millora-Brown will be the only new player not yet familiar to Cone’s system although with his size and agility – characteristics deemed a natural fit to the triangle – he is expected to have a seamless transition.
“We’re excited to have QMB in the pool,” added Panlilio. “We got a close-up look at what he can do when he played for the Macau Black Bears and talking to coach Tim, he’s certain a guy like QMB can shine in the system that we have.”
Gilas is set to open its Asian qualifiers campaign when it takes on Guam in a pair of home-and-away games in the November window.
Also part of that group are powerhouses Australia and New Zealand which Gilas is scheduled to face next year.
