Exposure To The Elements

May 30, 2022 Philippines Sports

With the Philippines already qualified for the 2023 Fiba (International Basketball Federation) World Cup (WC) being a co-host, a newly-assembled crop of young collegiate standouts is set to represent the country in the WC Asian Qualifiers and the Fiba Asia Cup in July with Letran’s Rhenz Abando looming as one of the spearheads.

Less than two weeks removed from being named the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first Rookie-MVP in seven years, the 6-foot-2 Abando on Sunday got the call up from Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes to be part of the talent pool, which will be heavily prepped not only for those two international tournaments but also for the World Cup next year.

The PBA will be opening its 47th Season on June 5 and will be well into its Philippine Cup schedule when those two tournaments are played, and PBA commissioner Willie Marcial also believes that this is the right thing to do for Gilas to be more cohesive.

“Since we are already qualified, I think they (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) are trying to expose all the young players to build chemistry,” Marcial told the Inquirer over the phone on Sunday. “I think it’s the most logical thing to do because we all want cohesiveness for the team.”