JUSTINE Baltazar will not be playing for Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming tournaments.
Spin.ph sources confirmed the unfortunate news as the 6-foot-7 forward shifts his attention to his impending move to the Japan B.League.
See As Ricci and Liwag join Gilas pool, Spencer left in doubt by injury
SBP has yet to respond to our queries as of posting time
Baltazar has been curiously absent from the national team training since it began last Wednesday as the Philippines prepares for the third window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers and the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup in Indonesia, both set next month.
The Kapampangan center is coming off a solid final season for La Salle where he posted 12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block to earn a spot in the Mythical Team.
Baltazar is set to leave for Japan this July as he links up with the Hiroshima Dragonflies for the 2022-23 B.League season.
He is the second player to excuse himself from national team duty with University of the Philippines guard James Spencer also rehabbing his plantar fasciitis injury in Australia.
Gilas, under coach Nenad Vucinic, recently added three names in Ricci Rivero, Caelum Harris, and Allen Liwag to the pool to hike the list from 15 to 18.
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