Gilas Pilipinas add some depth to their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 pool with Rhenz Abando, RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario, and Zavier Lucero.
Gilas Pilipinas have begun laying the groundwork for their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 campaign, with head coach Tim Cone confirming the addition of several new names to the team’s player list as preparations kicked off on Monday, July 7.
Among those included are RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario, Zavier Lucero, and Rhenz Abando—each offering unique skill sets and potential to boost the national team’s depth for the tournament, which takes place from August 5 to 17 in Saudi Arabia.
“He’s [RJ Abarrientos] part of our list. Troy [Rosario] is part of our list. We actually added [Zavier] Lucero but he’s in the States at the moment. We added Rhenz Abando, but he’s in Taiwan,” Cone said after Gilas’ first practice and team meetings.
“We needed to add a couple of guys on the list just to make sure. The 12 we’re bringing is not written in stone—we can make some minute changes. RJ is a candidate, Troy is a candidate. We’ll see what happens as we move forward.”
With Gilas Pilipinas dealing with injuries, mainly to key pillars Kai Sotto and Justin Brownlee, the addition of the four players to the core 12 is a welcome boost to depth and able bodies for practice moving forward.
Cone also addressed the eligibility of Lucero, as the Magnolia standout is in line to get his first opportunity with the national team.
“The SBP is checking that out now, but he’s handed the paper work. We think he is, but we’ll know for sure,” Cone said.
Gilas will continue evaluating its player pool in the coming weeks before finalizing the 12-man roster Jeddah.
The Philippines is eyeing a strong showing in the continental tournament after finishing just 9th in the 2022 edition.
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad)
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[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]