RJ Abarrientos, Justin Arana and Justin Baltazar will take their acts from the FIBA World Cup qualifiers to the 20th Asian Games.
Tim Cone made the announcement shortly after Gilas Pilipinas completed a two-game sweep of the fourth window of the qualifiers on Sunday night behind a 68-56 win over Iran before an ecstatic sellout crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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“Justin and Balti are going with the team. RJ is also on the Asian Games team,” said Cone, adding the focus now shifts to the country’s bid to retain the men’s basketball gold in the quadrennial showcase in Nagoya, Japan following the end of the two-day window of the qualifiers.
Abarrientos, Arana, and Baltazar were part of the Gilas pool to the FIBA event, with Arana and Baltazar earning spots in the 12-man roster against Iran and Jordan.
The Asiad-bound Gilas leaves for Seoul, South Korea on Thursday to play a two friendlies with the South Korea national team as part of its preparation for the Nagoya showpiece.
Cone said Arana was originally part of the team to the FIBA window, but was later moved to the Asiad unit when the two sides played a two-game scrimmage.
"Justin started with us for the (FIBA) window, and we moved him over to the Asian Games team and played in the scrimmages," Cone disclosed.
The Converge big man eventually got his call-up as part of the 12-man lineup against Iran following the ankle injury suffered by shooting forward Carl Tamayo.
"When Carl got injured, we brought him (Arana) back for the window," added Cone. "But he's been regularly practicing with the Asian Games team."
In contrast, Abarrientos and Baltazar have yet to join the Gilas squad for the Asiad in practice.
"They'll (Abarrientos and Baltazar) start practicing on Tuesday, and will go with us to Korea," said Cone.
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