THE country’s primary basketball organizations formally agreed to a special Gilas cadets draft with the hope of establishing a concrete system for the selection of members of national men’s teams to major international competitions.
Under the agreement, each of the 12 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams will pick one player from the 12-member Gilas cadets squad during the league’s annual Rookie Draft set on October 30 at the Robinson’s Manila in Malate.
They will be picked alongside the traditional Rookie Draft.
PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio announced the 12 members of the Gilas cadets program at halftime of Game Six of the Ginebra San Miguel-Meralco Governors’ Cup duel on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The cadets team is composed of Mike Tolomia, Russel Escoto, Arnold van Opstal, Kevin Ferrer, Mac Belo, RR Pogoy, Jio Jalalon, Von Pessumal, Ed Daguioag, Carl Cruz, Filipino-Canadian Matthew Wright and Alfonso Gotladera, a replacement for Almond Vosotros, already a pro with Blackwater Elite.
“This is a landmark agreement between the SBP and the PBA, a collaborative agreement. The PBA has shown its commitment to the SBP. They really want to support the Gilas program,” Panlilio said.
“This is a new role for the league. We want to accommodate many options. We’ll make sure that everything will fall in the proper framework,” Narvasa said.
The agreement also obliges the PBA teams to lend one player each to the Gilas program.