RJ Abarrientos and Quentin Millora-Brown made Gilas Pilipinas' final 12 for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Juan Gomez de Liaño, Troy Rosario, and Jamie Malonzo were the last three cuts.
RJ Abarrientos is no longer a stranger to how Gilas Pilipinas run things since joining pool months ago.
That worked wonders as the national team coach Tim Cone named him to the final 12 for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Monday, November 24.
"RJ knows the system a little bit more. He is with us last window in terms of the whole practice," Cone said minutes after revealing the final lineup for the first window.
What also worked for Abarrientos was that he has a full grasp of the triangle offense Cone is employing at Ginebra.
"He's a little bit ahead in terms of knowledge. So we picked RJ," he added.
The cat-quick guard joins the Gilas team gearing up for a pair of home-and-away games against Guam.
Gilas flies out to Guam tonight, November 25, ahead of their match against the island nation on November 28.
The Filipinos will then host the Jericho Cruz-led Guam three days later at the newly-renovated Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym.
Also in the final 12 are Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, Cjay Perez, Dwight Ramos, Chris Newsome, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao.
Quentin Millora-Brown will make his Gilas debut after winning an appeal for FIBA to recognize him as a local player.
Juan Gomez de Liaño, Troy Rosario, and Jamie Malonzo were the last three cuts.
Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.