The Philippine Basketball Association will hold a special draft for players who will join the Gilas Pilipinas roster.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said this after attending a board meeting of the PBA yesterday. There are 97 players who have applied for the PBA Draft and SBP will make their choices for the special draft for the second straight year.
“I was presented a list of players who can play for Gilas. And, we asked the board three days for us to look at the list,” said Panlilio on Zoom.
The chance to beef up the Gilas lineup came now that the Philippines won’t be pushing through with its hosting of the FIBA-Asia Cup qualifiers next month.
Travel restrictions imposed by the government have forced organizers to cancel the cagefest, which is set from Feb. 18 to 21.
The continuing threat of the coronavirus pandemic kept the SBP from staging the final window of the Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, the PBA Board of Governors named board member Richard Bachmann as tournament chairman of the PBA 3×3 events that the league will stage later this year.
Assisting him are former coach and cager turned organizer Eric Altamirano, Ronnie Magsanoc and Joey Guanio.
They will discuss the schedule next week. The schedule of the 3×3 event will be separate from the regular 5×5 competitions.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said the board also decided that the deadline for Fil-foreign players to present their complete documentation has been extended to March 5.
It was also decided that the PBA’s participation in the East Asia Super League this October will be deferred until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available.
The PBA is now in talks with the Philippine National Red Cross on plans for vaccinations and saliva tests for COVID-19.