THE Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will be sending an all-cadets team in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia.
SBP president Al Panlilio confirmed that no PBA players will be sent in the tournament.
Players who were picked in the special draft in 2019 and this March will comprise the core of the Gilas Pilipinas team that will fly to Belgrade in hopes of qualifying for Tokyo Olympics.
Panlilio said the PBA schedule running smack into the OQT which is set from June 29 to July 4 played a role in the decision to field an all-cadets squad.
PBA players will also not be sent in the coming Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers fourth window which will be staged sometime this year and to be hosted by the Philippines.
“If you take a look at it, if we want to start training even as early as this month and the PBA will start its conference this season in April and this will go all the way to July 4 which is the last day of the OQT, it will completely descale the calendar of the PBA,” said Panlilio in a press conference following the PBA planning session on Wednesday.
Panlilio expressed confidence about forming a team for the two tournaments that will be competitive as well as developed for the future.
The SBP president mentioned the names of Kai Sotto and Ange Kouame as possible additions to the pool of players aside from the players drafted in the PBA special draft.
“I think we have time to put up a plan of an entirely non-PBA team using the five that we already drafted last year and the four this year. That’s nine. And if you put the name if Ange Koaume there, potentially also Kai Sotto and some of the college players which we will be working on with the schools, I think we can come up with 20 if not 25 names that can enter the bubble as early as the end of the month to start the training,” said Panlilio.
The Philippines will be hardpressed to qualify for the Olympics as it is bracketed with host Serbia and Dominican Republic in Group A. The top two teams move to the crossover semifinals.
Gilas, meanwhile, still needs a couple of victories to advance into the Fiba Asia Cup proper. They will be facing Korea and Indonesia in the group.
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