Juan Gomez de Liano, Quentin Millora-Brown, Justin Brownlee and Jamie Malonzo were among the 12 players who attended the first practice of Gilas Pilipinas for the opening window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The four were joined by Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos during the session held at Blue Eagle Gym inside the Ateneo campus. AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo have yet to report for Gilas duties for various reasons, while Calvin Oftana has been ruled out for the two games against Guam on Nov. 28 and Dec. 1 due to a hamstring injury.
Kai Sotto is also part of the pool but will also be available for both matches due to his ongoing recovery from an ACL tear, though coach Tim Cone earlier revealed that the 7-foot-3 center will join the team during the window.
The first practice allowed Gomez de Liano and Millora-Brown to be integrated into Cone’s system after being the most recent additions to the Gilas pool. Millora-Brown was added after his appeal to be ruled as a local player was granted by Fiba while Gomez de Liano was tapped after his strong showing as a rookie for Converge in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Gilas will have daily practices at Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas before holding a mini-camp at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
The national team will travel to Guam for the first meeting before hosting the second match at Blue Eagle Gym.