By REYNALD MAGALLON
NLEX star guard Robert Bolick, rookie Dalph Panopio, free agent Justin Chua and collegiate standouts Allen Liwag and Cedrick Manzano have been tapped to complete the Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the 5-on-5 basketball in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
Although the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has yet to make any official announcement of its lineup, an update on the official list of Philippine delegation on Dec. 4 showed the four players as part of the Gilas lineup.
They will be joining the eight holdovers from the previous versions of the lineup after the Thailand SEAG organizing committee flagged several players due to eligibility rules.
Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks jr., Matthew Wright, and Veejay Pre, who were part of the initial list, are still in the lineup.
Jamie Malonzo, Von Pessumal, Abu Tratter also serve as replacements after the trio of Jason Brickman, Dave Ildefonso and Geo Chiu pulled out to focus on the title bid of Abra Weavers in the MPBL.
Initially, Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame were supposed to be part of the crew but the organizers overturned its initial decision to adopt the ‘passport only’ ruling on player eligibility.
The rule change also flagged the likes of Remy Martin, Mike Phillips, Kymani Ladi and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. The organizers’ flip-flopping on eligibility rules not only casted a cloud of doubt on the team’s lineup but has also delayed the preparations of the team.
According to a source, however, the SEAG team has been practicing with the initial eight players while waiting for the final decision from the committee.
The Nationals are looking to assert their mastery of the 5-on-5 basketball after reclaiming the gold medal in Cambodia. The Philippine have won all but three golds in the sports in the last 24 editions of the biennial meet.
