NAGKAROON ng panibagong dagok ang redemption bid ng Gilas Pilipinas sa nalalapit na 32nd Southeast Asian Games sa Cambodia sa pag-atras ng iba pang key players sa regional meet.
Isa na rito si San Miguel Beermen big man June Mar Fajardo, na patuloy na nagpapagaling mula sa kanyang knee injury.
Umatras din sina Mikey Williams at Jamie Malonzo sa sporting event dahil sa personal matters kasunod ng kanilang PBA Governors’ Cup Finals series.
Sinabi ni head coach Chot Reyes na para itong déjà vu.
“Those are huge losses to the team. It’s not only them… Roger Pogoy’s not gonna be here. Japeth (Aguilar) is a question mark, even Scottie (Thompson) is a question mark,” aniya.
“Just like last year, we were practicing with a certain number of guys. Hate to say it, but here we go again,” dagdag pa niya.
Tinampukan ng fundamentals ang ensayo noong Miyerkoles ng gabi na dinaluhan ng 11 players, kabilang ang PBA players at collegiate standouts.
Gayunman ay naghahanda ang koponan para sa mas mabigat na kumpetisyon ngayong taon sa kanilang hangaring mabawi ang gold matapos ang silver medal finish noong nakaraang taon sa Vietnam, na tumapos sa 33-year reign ng bansa sa regional meet
“Now when you look at the SEA Games where there are former NBA players, so many naturalized players, so many countries really stepped up their basketball game. I think it’s hard to expect certain things,” sabi ni Gilas Pilipinas player Christian Standhardinger. “But I think we have a very balanced team, we have shooters, we have slashers, and we have a great coaching staff.” Para paigtingin ang paghahanda, ang Gilas Pilipinas ay nakatakdang pumasok sa isang closed-door training camp sa Laguna sa Linggo.
Ang SEA Games basketball competition ay nakatakda sa May 9-16.
