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| Justin Brownlee will sit out the SEA Games, but Matthew Wright is not worried about it. Kennelf Monteza (file photo) |
TAGUIG—Gilas Pilipinas is now facing a dilemma of going all-Filipino as Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame are affected by a new rule imposed by host country Thailand for the Southeast Asian Games.
The eligibility update effectively disallows players categorized as "naturalized" for the men's 5-on-5 basketball tournament starting Dec. 13.
As it stands, Gilas' SEA Games team is now down to 10 players, Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks Jr., Dave Ildefonso, Brandon Rosser, Mike Phillips, Remy Martin, Jason Brickman, Kymani Ladi, and Veejay Pre.
When asked for his reaction to the setback, Wright said that he is welcoming the development with optimism.
"I'm not too worried about that. We can't really control what Thailand is doing," he said on Sunday.
Wright even sees this as an opportunity for the holdovers to jell more as a team.
"We would like to have known about this rule change earlier, but I think that's gonna motivate us to band together and give our best effort," he further said.
Losing Kouame, who is now joining the national team's 3x3 team instead as the eligibility rule in the SEA Games 3x3 event is lax, is a huge hit to Gilas' ceiling for the SEA Games men's 5-on-5 basketball title defense.
While forwards Phillips, Ladi, and Pre, the only three amateur players called up, are now tasked to step up, Wright is excited at what the UAAP stars will bring to the interior.
"I'm not really familiar too much with these young guys in college, but from what I heard, they're big, talented, athletic, and skilled, so it's always good to have some college guys because they're very hungry. They want to prove themselves. They have a chip on their shoulders, so I'm excited to play with these young guys and give my veteran advice," Wright further said.
However, insider reports surfaced earlier Sunday that coach Norman Black is set to call up Abra center Geo Chiu and former Kyoto high-flying forward Jamie Malonzo to shore up Gilas' frontline and wings.
