Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will not be the lone Filipino-American who will be part of the preparation of the United States in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green had been chosen to banner the Select Team, a collection of stars who will train with Team USA in its buildup for the prestigious 32-nation tournament that will be held in Manila from 25 August to 10 September.
Green, who played with Kai Sotto in Manila during his amateur days, is coming off a strong rookie season with the Rockets, averaging 19.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the regular season.
Now, he gets a chance to even harness his skills as he joins 10 current National Basketball Association players and three veterans in the squad that will train with Team USA from 3 to 6 August in Las Vegas for the World Cup.
Aside from Green, also part of the Select Team are Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons, Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks, Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans, Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings, Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics, Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For good measure, Team USA also tapped free agent Langston Galloway as well as G League players Eric Mika and John Jenkins, who were part of the teams that campaigned in the six windows of the World Cup qualifiers.
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley will serve as head coach of the 2023 USA Select Team and will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen of the Indiana Pacers and Matt Painter of Purdue University.
“We are confident that our USA Men’s Select Team will do a great job helping prepare the men’s national team for the 2023 Men’s FIBA World Cup,” said Grant Hill, USA Basketball men’s national team managing director.
“We have a good mix of young NBA players and those who helped us qualify for the World Cup, all of whom will play a huge role in our success in Manila, as we continue to develop the national team pipeline for years to come.”
Green, whose mother Bree Purganan is from Ilocos Sur, made an impact when he played at the Mall of Asia Arena as part of the Fil-Am Select Team in the National Basketball Training Center National Finals in 2018 and 2019.
He eventually played for the Ignite in the G League before getting selected second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
But in his recent visit to the Philippines as part of his Adidas JG4 Manila Tour, Green vividly recalled his memorable battles with Sotto, who is now looking to become the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA.
“Kai is super talented, he has a game but everyone has a different story. He just needs to keep his head down, trust the work and make sure to stay in the gym,” Green said.
