SAFE to say, Chris McCullough is still on board with Gilas Pilipinas.
The charming San Miguel import continued to affirm his desire to be the Philippines' next naturalized player as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) seeks to create a pool of reinforcements to backstop the national team in future competitions.
"I'm on call," McCullough tweeted, reacting to Spin.ph's story on SBP president Al Panlilio hoping to get the ball rolling on the formation of the naturalized players' pool after Andray Blatche's sub-par showing in the 2019 Fiba World Cup.
McCullough is one of the prospective naturalization candidates, together with Ginebra's resident reinforcement Justin Brownlee, as a potential successor to Blatche's spot with Gilas.
The 24-year-old forward from the Bronx, who played for the Brooklyn Nets and the Washington Wizards in the NBA, is currently playing in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He has posted averages of 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks for the league-leading Anyang KGC.
Panlilio hopes to form the pool to give the new Gilas Pilipinas pool some leeway when it comes to roster formation for the various international meets it is set to join, as well as giving the country an insurance in the event of an injury.
"My objective is to have two to three names as a pool so we'll have an elbow room. It depends on what the competition is, who's injured, mayroon ka nang backup. That's also the process, and it takes time," the executive said.
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