Gilas Pilipinas to join pocket tourney in Jordan

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team will be leaving for Amman, Jordan and join the 10th King Abdullah Cup from July 25 to August 3.

Gilas program director and head coach Tab Baldwin confirmed the news and said that they are leaving the Philippines on Saturday.

The Abdullah Cup is a round-robin tournament featuring teams from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tunisia.

After the elimination round, the top four teams of the tournament will then advance to the knockout semifinals on July 31 followed by the highly-anticipated finals scheduled on August 1.

“We’ll be going up against quality teams with different styles compared to the ones we faced in the Asia Cup Qualifiers,” said Baldwin.

Included in the Gilas pool traveling to Jordan are RJ Abarrientos, Justine Baltazar, SJ Belangel, Geo Chiu, Isaac Go, Jordan Heading, Ange Kouame, William Navarro, Mike Nieto, Carl Tamayo, and Dwight Ramos.

Returning members of the pool in Thirdy Ravena, Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi, Tzaddy Rangel, Kemark Carino, and Rey Suerte are not yet confirmed if they will be with the team in Jordan.

“The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas wanted the team to get more games so we looked for the best possible option and decided that Jordan will be a great destination,” said SBP Special Assistant to the President Ryan Gregorio.