FIBA: Phillips, Balti make Gilas 12; Sotto, Millora-Brown out

MANILA, June 21 ------ Mike Phillips and Justine Baltazar are set to don the national colors anew after being named to Gilas Pilipinas’ 12-man roster for the third window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

The former De La Salle University standouts will join head coach Tim Cone’s squad as Gilas takes on New Zealand on July 3 and Australia on July 6 in a pair of away games. It will mark the first time in years that Phillips and Baltazar will suit up for Gilas, with both expected to help fill the void left by the absences of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown.

Also making the roster are newly crowned PBA champions from Barangay Ginebra, namely Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, RJ Abarrientos, and Troy Rosario. Rounding out the 12-man squad are AJ Edu, Chris Newsome, Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, and Carl Tamayo. Calvin Oftana, a mainstay of Gilas, will be skipping this window as he focuses on recovering from his lower leg injuries.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com