Angie Robles, a guard from the University of Denver, has appeared on the radar screen of Gilas women’s team head coach Patrick Aquino.
Apart from Robles, Gilas is also targeting to beef up its lineup by tapping new faces in its bid to build up for three tournaments in the next two months.
The recruitment spree is brought about by the exodus of several players to their respective collegiate squads.
Aside from Gabi Bade and Malia Bambrick, who had both committed to play for Gilas, a few more players are being eyed to join and be part of the training pool.
An incoming sophomore, Robles averaged 3.8 points per game playing for the Pioneers.
“Coach Pat and I had been working together and we wanted to make sure we continue to build on a tree structure that we have a good number of players who will play together for so long,” said Fil-Am Nation Select founder Cris Gopez, who worked alongside Gilas women’s program director Pat Aquino in discovering Fil-American players who will be available to play for the national team, either as local players or naturalized.
Bambrick is going to come in as a naturalized player as well as Robles, but Gopez had been able to bring in a good number of players from the under-16 and under-18 divisions who are playing as local players.
Under FIBA rules, dual citizens who were able to get Philippine passports before the age of 16, are classified as local players.
“We’re getting talents now from Australia, from Europe and the US. It’s a great combination of talent. It’s cool to see when people see our group, it’s a different mix of Filipinos from around the world, which is great,” added Gopez, a former player in the Philippine Basketball League who played for Granny Goose, then being managed by Aquino several years ago.
Originally, Mai-Loni Henson, a prospect that is being eyed by Gilas as early as four years ago, was supposed to play for the squad in the team’s previous international campaigns.
Owing to her previous commitments, she could not get on board.
