CHICAGO - After a 38-month absence, Rhenz Abando returns to national team duty this month.
The 6-foot-2, 157-pound aerial acrobat was named to the 12-man Gilas Pilipinas roster for Window 5 of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
A fan favorite largely because of his knack to challenge gravity, Abando was last seen prowling in a red, white and blue jersey during the 2023 World Cup in Manila.
READ Abando back with Gilas for November window of World Cup qualifiers
Meanwhile, the former UST and Letran star continues to ply his trade in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) where he is averaging 10.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for the Anyang Red Boosters.
He's been tapped to help Gilas subdue Syria on November 27 and Iran on November 29.
BUT WHY NOW AFTER ALL THIS TIME?
Gilas coach Tim Cone explained to me the Abando ressurection.
"He was part of the original 12 when we first put the team together almost 3 years ago (time flies!) but he injured his back at that time and ultimately wasn't included," Cone said via text message.
Although the 28-year old has missed six FIBA windows since 2023, he was just around, like files in icloud.
"So he's always been on our radar and when we lost Calvin (Oftana) we felt he was the closest to playing like Calvin, position-wise," Cone said.
Replacing the TNT star, who opted out since his wife is set to give birth this month, wasn't easy.
OTHER OPTIONS.
"We considered others, of course, like (Robert) Bollick, (Jordan) Heading, (Zavier) Lucero and (LeBron) Lopez outside the pool and some of those in the pool that didn't make the 12, like RJ [Abarrientos], Balty [Justine Baltaar], [Justin] Arana, and Troy [Rosario]," Cone added.
Ultimately, it came down to Abando because "position-wise, what we would get from Calvin, we can closely get from Rhenz as well.
Now that he's back, here's hoping that Rhenz can fly high and help Gikas snatch two big Ws.
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