COACH REYES TO DECIDE ON WORLD CUP LINE-UP AFTER TUNE-UP GAMES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 15 Aug 2014
Philippine national basketball coach Chot Reyes will decide on the line-up for the FIBA World Cup which begins on August 28 in Spain after the series of tune-up games which kickoff with Gilas Pilipinas playing the French national team on Friday with the game to be telecast on a delayed basis by TV 5 on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
With six NBA players in their line-up, France will be an awesome opponent. The NBA players are 6?8 power forward Boris Diaw of NBA champions San Antonio Spurs, 22 year old 7?2? Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Indiana Pacers 6?11? center Ian Mahinm, Portland Trailblazers 6?8? small forward Nicholas Batum, Toronto Raptors 6?5? guard Nando de Colo and Denver Nuggets 6?6? small forward Evan Fournier.
The Manila Standard learned that Reyes and his coaching staff have chosen a ?tentative? twelve-man line-up for the World Cup in which the Philippines will be competing for the first time after 40 years thanks to an emotionally charged effort that earned second place in the FIBA Asia Championships during eleven memorable days in Manila in August last year.
Reyes told us the other day that he would see how the team performs in its series of tune-up games before deciding on the twelve players for the World Cup.
Reyes indicated that he is not pressed for time in submitting the World Cup line-up unlike the Asian Games where the roster had to be filed with the Asian Games Organizing Committee in Incheon, South Korea by Friday, August 15.
Reyes told the Manila Standard the other day that he would see how the team performs in its series of tune-up games before deciding on the twelve players for the World Cup.
Former FIBA Asia secretary general Moying Martelino told the Standard that the initial list of 24 players from which the final twelve will be named had already been submitted to FIBA and that ?the final twelve has to be submitted at the team managers meeting which will be held one or two days before the opening of the World Cup and only after all the 16 teams have arrived in Spain.?
Although Jimmy Alapag was not included in the Asian Games squad after he had requested Reyes to leave him out and to give younger players an opportunity, he is almost certain to be named to the World Cup team as captain of the Gilas Pilipinas squad that finished second in the FIBA Asia Championships last year.
The other spot left vacant by the decision of shooter Larry Fonacier to withdraw prior to the team?s departure for a training stint in Miani, Florida is likely to be filled by Paul Lee or Jared Dillinger.
Reyes who has been impressed by the shooting ability and all-round game of Lee and the defensive abilities of Dillinger faces a quandary on whom to select between the two unless he decides to take a bold step and replace one of the players from the Gilas Pilipinas team that finished runners-up in the FIBA Asia Championships last year with the likely choice being Gary David.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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