The incoming PBA Draftees were believed to be the deepest and most talented ones in recent memory.
But diehard PBA fans may have to wait for at least a year to see them ball in the professional stage.
No less than the outgoing Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Manuel V. Pangilinan confirmed that Kiefer Ravena, RR Pogoy, Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia, and other Gilas cadets have agreed to pass on the 2016 PBA Draft to ensure their availability for the FIBA competitions next year.
MVP also logged in the players as a part of the new Gilas Pilipinas cadet program, which will play a crucial role in the Philippines’ forays into FIBA competition in the future.
“We have at least 14 names for the Gilas cadets. We’ve spoken to all of them. All of them have consented. So we’re finalizing the documentation for them,” Pangilinan said.
The cadet team shall conform to the new FIBA qualifying format which they will instead have to compete in a series of home-and-away qualification games during specific windows states instead of teams earning qualification for the Olympics and the World Cup through continental championships.
A lot of these games though, falls in the middle of the PBA season, which is why the players have agreed to skip the draft.
The formation of this cadet program will have an eye specifically on the next FIBA Basketball World Cup, which will be held in 2019.
“It’s in preparation for the 2017 home and away games of FIBA in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup in China,” MVP added.
He said that while Gilas coach Tab Baldwin remains in charge of the entire program, the cadets will also have their own coach. In the recently-concluded 2016 SEABA Stankovic Cup, the team was handled by Nash Racela and Josh Reyes.
Source: Interaksyon
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