FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONS CUP 2017 : CHOOKS TO GO PILIPINAS LINE UP REVEALED

The line up of Chooks To Go Pilipinas for the FIBA Asia Championship 2017 has finally been revealed yesterday, way after the expected annpuncement last Friday which was the deadline for the team rosters.

The team are mostly PBA players and college standouts. Leading the charge for the Filipinos are the phenom Kiefer Ravena, former King Archer Jeron Teng and Gilas cadets member Carl Bryan Cruz. The team will be reinforced by naturalization candidate Isaiah Austin and CEU player Rob Ebondo.

Here is the complete list of players:

Alfrancis Tamsi
Almond Vosotros
Carl Bryan Cruz
Isaiah Austin
Jeric Teng
Jett Manuel
Jeron Teng
Kiefer Ravena
LA Revilla
Norbert Torres
Raymar Jose
Rob Ebondo

Andre Paras and Gab Banal has been included in the team as reserve players. The tournament will be on September 22 - 30, 2017 in Chenzhou, China. Games will be aired in Sports 5 / Aksyon TV. They will be showing the first two games live, still waiting for advise on the other games.

As of this afternoon, the team is already headed (if they have not already landed) to China.

Your Chooks to Go Pilipinas squad. CBC, Isaiah Austin, and Rod Ebondo will be flying to China tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/DidOTwOaqg

— Carlo Pamintuan (@carlo_pamintuan) September 20, 2017

The two reinforcements will be leaving separately after getting their visas only today. Rob will be leaving Manila by tomorrow while Isaiah is already on a train to Chenzhou after finally getting his visa in Hongkong after being denied in Manila.

Good luck Chooks To Go Pilipinas!

FIBA ASIA CUP 2017 : GILAS PILIPINAS SWEEPS GROUP B AS MORE THAN 2000 FILIPINOS CHEER ON

Gilas Pilipinas went on to sweep Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon by beating Qatar, 80 - 74. With June Mar Fajardo still injured and Christian Standhardinger also sitting out due to a bad case of stiff neck, the Philippines had to rely on the sweet shooting of Matthew Right who finished with 25 points which included 7 three pointers.

Calvin Abueva also slipped in the second quarter and was not able to come back, our big guys having early foul trouble and Terrence Romeo was also misfiring, Gilas Pilipinas was able to play good team ball and had great performances from Gabe Norwood and Carl Bryan Cruz.

But what made this win special is that more than 15 bus fulls of Filipinos came out to support the team and the stadium felt like homecourt for the team. It is really amazing how Filipinos support Gilas where ever they play. They also get a chance to meet their idols after the game.

More than 2,000 Filipinos in Beirut to meet the Gilas Pilipinas: https://t.co/dfQQEM8F7X 😵🇵🇭🎉 #FIBAAsiaCup2017 pic.twitter.com/wWKj5xlkSX

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 13, 2017

With this win, Gilas Pilipinas advances automatically to the the quarterfinals, joining other top teams from the other groups - Australia, New Zealand and Iran. They will be battling against the winner of the game tonight between Korea and Japan. Whoever wins will definitely be a challenge for Gilas since both Korea has been a constant antagonist of Gilas while Japan gave us a good fight in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships.

With 3 days rest, the Filipinos will definitely prepare hard for the game on Wednesday. Surely, Standhardinger and Abueva will be back to play and all are playing for June Mar to be able to play as well.

Laban Pilipinas!

GILAS PILIPINAS: LOOK WHO SHOWED UP IN THE GILAS PRACTICE

Tonight is the first training day of the Gilas Pilipinas team for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. Surprisingly, a familiar face showed up. It is not the players but a former guide of our region basketball rival - it is former Thailand National Basketball Team head coach Tim Lewis.

Thailand's SEABA head coach, Tim Lewis is now part of the Gilas Pilipinas coaching staff 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/1Pzgj53Gpa

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) July 27, 2017

Lewis was the coach of the Thailand NT since 2016 and was the coach when Gilas faced them during the SEABA tournament here in Manila. According to the news, after Thailand took home the bronze in that tournament, Lewis went back home for vacation. When he came back to Thailand, he was informed that he was going to be fired due to the team's performance. This came as a surprise to him and look where he is now - in the stable with the regional champions.

This can be an advantage to the SEA Games team, Since they will be facing Thailand in their first game on August 20, they might not have Christian Standhardinger and Carl Bryan Cruz since they are also in the FIBA Asia Cup line up which will only end on the same day. Though we are undermanned, the familiarity of Tim Lewis with the Thailand team will come in handy.

GILAS PILIPINAS: LINE UP FOR THE 2017 FIBA ASIA CUP REVEALED

The line up of the Gilas Pilipinas for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup 2017 has been revealed shortly after the deadline last Tuesday night. Coach Chot Reyes posted this tweet in his account :

12 men; 12 practices; hopefully for 12 days in Beirut #LabanPilipinasPuso pic.twitter.com/AIrfSKO2GV

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) July 25, 2017

The line up include Gilas veterans Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo, Raymond Almazan and reigning best point guard in Asia Jayson Castro. Making a comeback for Gilas is our defense specialist - Gabe Norwood.

Also making the line up are Gilas cadets from the SEABA champion team RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright and Jio Jalalon. Making his first seniors mens team appearance is cadet Carl Bryan Cruz. Our naturalized player for this tournament is Fil-German Christian Standhardinger who impressed us in his Jones Cup performance.

Notably absent from the line up as compared to the SEABA team are Allein Maliksi, Troy Rosario and Andray Blatche, Troy will instead play with the remaining Gilas cadets in the Southeast Asian Games and try to retain the country's supremacy in the region. Blatche on the other hand said that there are multiple reasons on why the cannot join the team in Lebanon.

The FIBA Asia Cup will be on August 9 to 20, 2017 in Lebanon and games will be aired in TV% and Aksyon TV.