* Mike Phillips, Brandon Ganuelas Rosser red-flagged by Thailand organizers even if they've played in previous SEA Games
* Remy Martin's camp pulls out former US NCAA star after he is 'yellow-flagged' by organizers
* Abra players in doubt for SEA Games
* Gilas lineup down to 8 men
CHICAGO - As expected, with the continued delays in the eligibility ruling for athletes, the 2025 Southeast Games Organizing Committee dealt a serious blow to Gilas Pilipinas' title defense bid.
Per multiple sources, Mike Phillips of La Salle and TNT's Brandon Ganuelas Rosser have both been "red flagged" from competing in the biennial event, joining Justin Brownlee in the 'banned' list.
READ POC chief fumes at SEAG dilly-dallying on basketball eligibility rules
Remy Martin, on the other hand, has been "yellow flagged," meaning the organizers are still "investigating" his background. And with the looming uncertainty, Martin's camp told me on Saturday morning that the former Kansas Jayhawks star is no longer planning a trip to Thailand.
The purge does not end there.
A source with knowledge of the ongoing line-up chaos told me that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has taken Geo Chiu, Dave Ildefonso and Jason Brickman out of the lineup because their current team, the Abra Weavers, are poised to make a deep run in the MPBL playoffs and the federation "cannot take the risk of waiting."
THEIR HOUSE. THEIR RULES.
The ruling on Phillips and Ganuelas-Rosser is especially stunning given that both have already previously competed in the SEA Games. But the host organizers have the unbridled authority to adopt whatever rules it chooses to implement.
What the Thais are doing isn't illegal. It's just dirty, sneaky, and leaks with impunity that betrays the tenets of sportsmanship that the SEA Games represents.
Having already anticipated this wicked blindside hit, our alert officials have activated a Plan B which they have been preparing for since the Thais kept moving the goalpost on the final decision regarding eligibility.
To make sure that Gilas will still have a highly competitive roster, former Ginebra juggernaut Jamie Malonzo, Robert Bolick of NLEX, Abu Tratter of Blackwater and Von Pessumal of Titan Ultra have been added to the roster, joining Bobby Ray Parks, Veejay Pre, Matthew Wright and Thirdy Ravena, who were in the original list.
With eight ready to go, the search continues for four more.
It now boils down to a race against time.
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