MANILA, Philippines — Tim Cone named Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos, along with Converge twin towers Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar to the Gilas squad that will be defending the country’s Asian Games men’s basketball gold medal in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan this September.
The three were part of the Gilas side, which on Sunday, completed a sweep of its fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian qualifiers following its 68-56 win over Iran at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Justin and Balti are going with the team. RJ is also on the Asian Games team,” said Cone, shortly after the Philippine team completed the come-from-behind victory against Iran in front of a wildly-cheering home crowd.
Baltazar was part of the Gilas final 12 that defeated Jordan and Iran. Arana made it to the final cut in the game against Iran, but did not get to play.
On the other hand, Abarrientos was part of the 14-man pool.
Cone and the all-PBA Gilas pool will leave this Thursday for Seoul, as they play two friendly games against the Korean national squad to continue its buildup for the Asian Games.
Unlike the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, Gilas won’t have Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo, all playing in Japan and Korean pro leagues.
Sotto also won’t be playing for the Asian Games-bound Gilas side as Cone will now be handling practically a new set of players.
