Gilas unveils 12-man lineup for Asian Games title defense

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After almost a month of building chemistry and undergoing intense training, the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team finally announced its final 12-man lineup for the upcoming 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Spearheading Gilas’ title defense campaign is NLEX Road Warriors superstar Robert Bolick, who is also making a return to the national team after previously donning the blue and white threads during the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

Alongside Bolick in the backcourt is arguably one of the most sought-after players among Filipino fans for inclusion in Gilas, Rain or Shine’s rising star Adrian Nocum.

Providing an interior threat and post presence are Converge’s one-two frontcourt punch of Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana, Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero, Meralco’s Brandon Bates, and TNT’s Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.

Also included in the final cut are San Miguel’s Don Trollano and Jerrick Ahanmisi, Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, and Ginebra’s floor general RJ Abarrientos.

Meanwhile, the 12th and final roster spot was allotted to naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who is planning to rejoin the national team after a two-game absence during the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

According to head coach Tim Cone, this new version of Gilas will revolve around its quickness advantage over the other Asian Games teams, the complete opposite of the half-court-oriented system of Gilas Team A.

In the previous Asian Games, Gilas successfully ended the Philippines’ 61-year gold medal drought during the 19th edition in Hangzhou, China.

Before defeating Jordan for the gold medal, Gilas had to overcome host China in the semifinals.

Brownlee carried the national team on his back, scoring eight straight points in 67 seconds to lift Gilas to a stunning 77–76 victory and a berth in the gold medal game.

Against Jordan, it was a total team effort for the Filipinos as they avenged their only loss of the tournament, which came during the preliminary round.

Can Gilas Pilipinas defend its Asian Games crown and win back-to-back championships in Japan?