WHEN it rains, it pours in the case of big man Justin Chua.
Following a breakout PBA season that saw the Phoenix center emerging as a strong contender for the Most Improved Player Award, Chua got another call-up to become part of the Gilas Pilipinas training pool for the final window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
The 31-year-old Chua joined the team bubble on Friday at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna together with Terrafirma’s CJ Perez.
A team insider though said he hasn’t seen both Chua and Perez, who became the latest PBA players to come on board after Kiefer Ravena of NLEX.
“They were supposed to arrive on Friday but we haven’t seen them yet,” said the insider.
Reason perhaps is that the two have to be quarantined in their respective rooms after undergoing swab testing upon entering Inspire Academy.
“They’re waiting for the results of their swab test. Once cleared, puwede na silang mag-join sa team,” said a person knowledgeable of the situation inside the bubble.
This will be the second time Chua has been tapped to become part of the Gilas program.
He was part of the 12-man Gilas roster during the first window of the meet after taking the place of regular member Japeth Aguilar. Chua had six points and three rebounds in the Philippines’ 100-70 whipping of Indonesia in Jakarta.
Perez and Ravena were also part of the roster in the first window together with fellow PBA players Roger Pogoy, Poy Erram, Troy Rosario, and Abu Tratter along with special draftees Isaac Go and Matt Nieto.
More pro players are expected to arrive in the Calamba bubble within the week as official training for the Gilas pool official begins on Jan. 22.
The bubble training will be held for about a month before the team plays in the Feb. 18 to 21 qualifiers in Clark, Pampanga.
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