Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach Josh Reyes will be wearing a different hat as he guides the national U16 squad in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association U16 tournament from 15 to 19 July in Indonesia.
Gilas youth squad team manager Dean Castano said they are already busy with their preparation despite having Reyes focused on the training of the men’s team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host from 25 August to 10 September.
Josh, son of current Gilas Pilipinas men’s coach Chot Reyes, is with the national team aspirants who are currently on a training camp inside the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.
From Laguna, the Gilas squad will go straight to Estonia for a training camp in Lithuania, but the young Reyes will not be able to join the team as he will stay behind to call the shots for the U16 tourney that serves as a qualifier for the FIBA Asia Cup.
“We’re training daily, but Coach Josh is not with the team for the time being,” Castano said.
A total of 19 players are currently jostling for a spot for the Batang Gilas final 12 and the pool will increase further in the next few days with the addition of four Filipino-American players.
“But we’re still having our tryouts, so no sure spot yet for the aspirants,” Castano added.
Kiefer Alas heads the pool members in a bid to follow the footsteps of his father, former Phoenix Super LPG coach Louie Alas, and brother, NLEX playmaker Kevin Alas.
Much is also expected on the younger Alas, a promising player from La Salle Zobel, as he was invited in the NBA Asia Development Camp in Singapore and the Basketball Without Borders Asia in Abu Dhabi recently.
The Philippines has dominated the SEABA tourney as it won the gold medals in the last four editions.
