STAR forward Allein Maliksi has received a surprise call-up to the Gilas Pilipinas 5.0 pool after teammate Paul Lee was dropped temporarily due to a meniscal tear on his knee.
National coach Chot Reyes made the announcement as the Gilas pool converged for the first time on Tuesday at Splendido in Tagaytay ahead of the team's initial stint in the Seaba championships which the country will host from May 12-18.
"We made that decision just this morning," Reyes said as he addressed members of the Gilas pool at the start of the three-day training camp in Tagaytay.
[See Dropped from Gilas pool, Paul Lee set to play 'with caution' for Star in PBA]
Reyes bared the change is not permanent, telling he team that Paul Lee's "injury is being managed on a daily basis, so we decided to replace him - for now - with Allein Maliksi.
"Allein is on his way up, he should be able to join us soon."
From the members of the Gilas pool, absent from camp were Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar and SMB's June Mar Fajardo, who were excused after their teams figured in the last PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Terrence Romeo was also excused, with Reyes revealing that the GlobalPort star guard has been bed-ridden for five days now due to an unknown illness.
[See Art Dela Cruz undergoes surgery after suffering ruptured tendon in Gilas camp]