They do get the country's favorite naturalized player.
Six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and three-time Best Import Justin Brownlee headline the 28-man national team pool submitted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Only Fajardo and RR Pogoy are the holdovers from the lineup that represented the country in the previous SEA Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the Philippines finished with a disappointing silver medal after losing to Indonesia in the final.
“That moment is upon us, and we’re not leaving any stone unturned in our overall bid to regain basketball glory in our region,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said in a statement.
Joining Fajardo, Pogoy, and Brownlee are a mix of pro and amateur players, which include Fajardo’s San Miguel Beermen teammates in Cjay Perez, Chris Ross, and Marcio Lassiter.
Pogoy also has his TNT Tropang Giga cohorts taking on national team duties, namely Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram, and Mikey Williams.
Crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are sending Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle, and Jeremiah Gray to the pool. While their rivals in the Meralco Bolts are loaning Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, and Aaron Black.
Arvin Tolentino of NorthPort Batang Pier, and Kevin Alas and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser of NLEX Road Warriors round out the pros in the pool.
Schonny Winston, Kevin Quiambao, Jerom Lastimosa, Mason Amos, Ben Phillips, Michael Phillips, and AJ Edu are the collegiate players who are joining the Gilas selection.
Panlilio explained that the decision in building this pool is driven by the goal of bringing back the SEA games gold to the Philippines.
“What we’ve gone through after that fateful day in Hanoi, both the wins and the losses in the various tournaments that followed, are, in effect, geared also toward bringing the SEA Games gold medal back to our shores,” he said in the SBP-released statement.
Long-time Gilas coach Chot Reyes will lead the squad to the 2023 edition of the SEA Games, which takes place in May.