Gilas Pilipinas started its first day of practice with Converge big man Justine Baltazar showing up on Monday at the Upper Deck in Ortigas, Pasig City.
Coach Tim Cone said the top overall pick of the 2024 PBA Rookie Draft is being “added to the training pool.
” ‘Yes, he's added to our pool. The 12 will be decided at the end of next week,” Cone said in a short reply to the Manila Times.
Baltazar, listed at 6-foot-8, is seen as a key addition at front court given that news came out already that 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown will not be playing in the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The 28-year-old Baltazar last played for the Philippine team in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers where he averaged 7.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in five games.
Baltazar is the second Converge player added to the Gilas Pilipinas pool after rookie guard Juan Gomez De Liano who joined the team late last year.
So far, the first day of practice didn’t have players who are currently playing in Japan and Korea. But Cone has said that players like Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo will “trickle in” this week.
The world No. 36 Philippines opens window 2 against No. 25 New Zealand on Feb. 26 and No. 6 Australia on March 1. Both games will be played at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Australia and the Philippines share similar immaculate 2-0 records in the first round at Group A.
On the other hand, New Zealand and Guam are winless after their first two matches. The three top teams in the group stage will move on to the second round, with three teams from Group C joining them.