THERE will be plenty of new blood donning the country’s colors when the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas 2.0 competes in the 24th Dubai International Basketball Tournament slated from Jan. 10 to 19 at the Al Ahli Club.
The official lineup was revealed by head coach Chot Reyes over the holidays on his Twitter account. Named to play for the latest edition of the Gilas squad were Cebuano big man Greg Slaughter along with amateur stars Kevin Louie Alas, former UAAP MVP, RR Garcia, sweet-shooting wingman Ronald Pascual, former San Beda ace Jake Pascual and Fil-foreign guard Justin Melton.
With the professional stars of the PBA such as Gary David, LA Tenorio, Arwind Santos and Junemar Fajardo unavailable to play for the team, Reyes has instead tapped Jay-R Reyes, KG Canaleta and Ronjay Buenafe. Completing the squad are naturalized player, Marcus Douthit, Garvo Lanete and Matt Rosser.
The Gilas has seen success at the said tournament, placing third during the 2010 edition. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio