It will be a busy schedule ahead as Meralco will not just have one, but two international tournaments in store while preparing for the coming new season of the Philippine Basketball Association.
The Bolts arrived in Qatar on Saturday and immediately buckled down to work the day after for a training to prepare for the Doha International Tournament.
The Bolts will be playing against club teams from the Middle East countries.
Aside from the Doha Invitational, Meralco will also take part in the East Asia Super League this October.
Newly-appointed coach Luigi Trillo confirmed to Daily Tribune that they will miss key players in the tournament, including key rookie selections Brandon Bates and Jolo Mendoza as well as veteran big man Raymond Almazan.
The Bolts had already released its best players, Chris Newsome, to Gilas Pilipinas and he will be seeing action for the squad in the upcoming men’s basketball competition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“We’re hoping to have Brandon and Jolo as these games will be good for them. The more games they play, the better for them to fast track their learning in our system. But Brandon had personal matters to attend to and has asked permission while Jolo is currently in the hospital,” said Trillo via overseas call.
“Raymond, on the other hand, had some problems on his back, while Anjo Caram also got injured. But if there’s one good thing for us, we’re going to have Chris Banchero back in the roster.”
Bates was selected eighth overall by the Bolts while Mendoza, a former guard standout of Batang Gilas, was picked in the third round.
Only Shean Jackson, who was chosen in the sixth round by the Bolts, will be able to join among the rookie hopefuls, according to Trillo.
Trillo is also looking at this tournament as a way to gauge its young import, Feron Hunt.
Hunt, a 24-year-old who played only two games for the New York Knicks last year, will be playing in his first tournament outside America.
“We had our first tune up game against Phoenix and we could tell that Ferom is still trying to learn the system and how his teammates play. This tournament will give us an opportunity to gauge him fairly,” added Trillo.
The Bolts are also looking to bring in another import who could help out Hunt and they’re looking at some prospects, including a Serbian player, whose identity had yet to be disclosed.
