Chot Reyes will beef up the Gilas Pilipinas squad with Philippine Basketball Association players as the country ramps up its quest in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the Board of Governors approved the inclusion of PBA stars for the 23 September to 8 October event as requested by Reyes during a recent meeting.
The development will result in the 48th Season of the PBA being pushed to mid-October instead of the original September date to give Gilas Pilipinas a better chance of winning a gold medal the country last won during the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta.
In the 2018 Asian Games, also in Jakarta, a team bannered by Jordan Clarkson, wound up fifth with Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao calling the shots.
Also affected by the decision to push the 48th Season to the second week of October was the staging of the annual draft, which will now be held in September.
As this developed, the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas lauded the PBA’s move to move the opening to help Reyes form a solid squad for Hangzhou.
“The PBA is true to form on its all-out support for Gilas Filipinas,” SBP executive director and spokesperson Sonny Barrios said.
“They’re cutting short their calendar for the Southeast Asian games and the World Cup and now, they’re going to support the Asian Games as well.”
Barrios said what the PBA has decided to do is “an ultimate sacrifice (by) sending the players in these three major international events while shortening their calendar. We couldn’t thank them enough for these sacrifices they’re doing.”
