Gilas Pilipinas adds Liwag, Chua, Bolick to SEA Games lineup

MANILA, December 5 ------ Gilas Pilipinas officially completed its lineup less than a week before it defends its men's basketball gold medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. The Gilas Final 12 comes after hurdling restrictions set by host Thailand.

According to the athlete list released by the Philippine Olympic Committee, former NCAA MVP Allen Liwag of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers and former PBA player Justin Chua are among the new names in the lineup. The roster also includes Ray Parks Jr., Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena, Jamie Malonzo, and Von Pessumal.

PBA stars Robert Bolick, Abu Tratter, and rookie Dalph Panopio, who previously represented the country as part of Gilas Youth, are likewise in the list. Also in the lineup are collegiate basketball stars Veejay Pre and Cedrick Manzano. It was a tricky situation for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to complete the lineup, as local leagues like the PBA, UAAP, NCAA, and MPBL would still be ongoing during the SEA Games.

Calling the shots for Gilas in the regional showcase is champion coach Norman Black. The lineup is as of December 4, and will be updated if there will be changes. Restrictions set by host Thailand also made the lineup go under numerous revisions, following the imposition of FIBA rules on naturalized players. Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame, who were initially part of the list, had to be removed due to this restriction. Other players in the original lineup, like Remy Martin, Kymani Ladi, Mike Phillips, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, faced the same fate due to other issues.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com