12-Man Lineup Competing for FIBA Asia Named For Smart Gilas Pilipinas

Smart Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes has named the 12-man lineup that will represent the country in the upcoming FIBA Asia '13 tournament to be held in the country. As of July 11, coach Chot tweeted via his personal account that he had submitted the list of the team's roster for the FIBA Asia Championship. Here's the tweet from Coach Chot:

Here is the complete list of roster for the Smart Gilas Pilipinas competing in this year's FIBA Asia Championship:

Jayson Castro

Larry Fonacier

Ranidel de Ocampo

Gary David

Gabe Norwood

Jimmy Alapag

LA Tenorio

June Mar Fajardo

Marc Pingris

Japeth Aguilar

Jeff Chan

Marcus Douthit

The team recently went to New Zealand for the final stage of preparation for the tournament. There were 13 players who attended the training, and of the 13 only Beau Belga did not make the final cut. The FIBA Asia tournament will take place on August 1 to 11, 2013. Smart Gilas' first game will be on August 1 against Saudi Arabia in MOA Arena.

What do you think of Smart Gilas Pilipinas' chances coming into the FIBA Asia Championship tournament?

Gilas Pilipinas Adds Belga Into the Lineup, Joins Training Camp

Image: interaksyon.com

Smart Gilas Pilipinas is in the thick of its preparation for the upcoming FIBA Asia 2013 Tournament, which the team will be hosting this year. After head coach Chot Reyes’ announcement via Twitter that the Smart Gilas Pilipinas had been un-invited to this year’s Jones Cup tournament, the team is looking for other ways to train and prepare for the upcoming FIBA Asia Championship. And as part of the team’s effort to boost their lineup, Rain or Shine center Beau Belga had been added into the lineup. Belga will replace Slaughter in the lineup, who was kept by his amateur team from joining Smart Gilas’ stint at a Lithuanian camp. 


As of now, Beau Belga is bent in getting the right fitness level so he can be in shape for the upcoming competition that Smart Gilas will be joining in. Head coach Chot Reyes recently named him as the latest inclusion into the Smart Gilas training pool. The 225-lb center has also made a few adjustments in his lifestyle to ensure that he will have faster rate at improving his conditioning, especially since it is his dream to become a national player. 

However, Beau Belga was unable to join the rest of the team as they flew to Lithuania because he is still processing his visa. Once that is good to go, he will be able to join the rest of the team in the succeeding preparations for the FIBA Asia competition. 

The training camp in Lithuania will last for two weeks wherein they will have a series of tune-up games against top Lithuanian ball clubs. Coach Chot Reyes admits that this training camp is nothing like the competitive sharpness they will get when competing at the Jones Cup tournament, of which they had been uninvited. 

Aside from the competitive training they will get, Chot Reyes is also hoping that players will bond and improve their team chemistry, on and off the court, as a result of this trip. Four players, though, won’t be making the trip namely Jared Dillinger, Sonny Thoss and Ryan Reyes, due to their respective injuries. Meanwhile, Kelly Williams had been taken out of the lineup due to his recurring blood disorder.