RHENZ Abando finally gets his shot at representing the country as he has been called up to be part of the Gilas Pilipinas pool.
Spin.ph sources confirmed that the newly minted NCAA Season 97 MVP has been invited to train with the national team in the leadup for the third window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers and the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup in Indonesia, both slated in July.
See Rhenz Abando uncomfortable accepting Rookie of the Year award
The 6-foot-2 Abando, who led Letran to a 12-0 season in NCAA Season 97, posted 15.73 points, 6.36 rebounds, 1.73 assists, and 1.27 blocks in his first year for the Knights where he was also named as the Rookie of the Year and a part of the Mythical Team.
The 24-year-old Abando transferred to Letran after a one-season stay at University of Santo Tomas.
Coach Chot Reyes earlier said that he plans to field a Gilas team filled with collegiate standouts for the next set of games as the Philippines continues its buildup for the 2023 Fiba World Cup which will be held in the country.
"In our plans, it's going to be composed mostly of UAAP and NCAA players because the PBA is going to be ongoing at that time," he said in an interview with PlayitRight TV.
Rhenz Abando gears up for Gilas training.
Among those that Reyes mentioned were Lebron Lopez, Ateneo's SJ Belangel and Dave Ildefonso, University of the Philippines' Carl Tamayo and James Spencer, and even La Salle's Justine Baltazar who recently signed with Japan B.League club Hiroshima Dragonflies.
"We really want to be able to expose them to higher level Asian competition to prepare them for the World Cup in 2023," said Reyes with Gilas set to resume its trainings this Wednesday.
Aside from that, the national team coach expects B.League players Dwight Ramos and brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena to be part of the buildup as Gilas looks to rebound from its shock silver medal finish at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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