A TALL Batang Gilas will see action in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association U-16 Championship, but team officials stressed they won’t let complacency overcome their campaign.
Coach Michael Oliver said a basketball-crazy country would aim for nothing less than the crown and that the boys are prepared for the tournament that serves as qualifier to the U-16 Fiba Asia Cup.
The Philippines will host the meet from May 14 to 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Of course, we will go for No. 1. That’s why we have been preparing hard for the tournament,” Oliver told Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City.
Lanky center Kai Sotto (6-foot-11) leads the 12-member roster, which Oliver and TeMm manager Andrew Teh introduced during the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Golden Phoenix Hotel, Accel and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Also on the team are Shaun Geoffrey Chiu, Recaredo Christian Calimag, Raven Angelo Cortez, Terrence John Fortea, Rafael Go, Mclaude Guadana, Joshua Rafael Lazaro, John Bismarck Lina, Jose Miguel Pascual, Rence Keith Sean Padrigao and Miguel Roy Tan.
Daniel Anthony Coo, Lloyd Raphael Olivia and Ryan Samuel Yu are reserves, while the coaching staff is composed of Jigs Mendoza, JB Sison, Mc Abolucion, John Arenas and Nico D’haenen.
The team has an average height of 6-foot-4, which Teh describes as the “tallest U-16 Youth squad assembled in years”.
“It’s only now that we have tall players, so definitely it’s huge for us,” Oliver said. “It would be to our advantage, especially in rebounds. And getting rebounds means more opportunities for us to run the transition.”
Image credits: Roy Domingo