The country’s most popular basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association confirmed that they are committed to support the national team program as they released on Wednesday a 17-man pool from which the line-up for the Olympic wildcard qualifier would come.
Some of the most notable names who were added to the lists of PBA players were big men June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter.
The two-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo lead the list of players the PBA will lend in the pool which includes Marcio Lassiter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Calvin Abueva, Paul Lee, Gabe Norwood, Jayson Castro, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Ryan Reyes, Marc Pingris, Troy Rosario, Ian Sangalang, Ranidel De Ocampo, Terrence Romeo and Jeff Chan.
The resolution came after a special PBA board meeting called by PBA chairman Robert Non.
The Philippine men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas failed to secure an outright slot to Rio Olympics during the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship by finishing second to China but the country will have a chance to redeem itself but faces a more tougher opponents this time.
The wildcard phase will feature powerhouse nations from other continents who also failed to secure a slot in the 2016 Rio Games. The Philippines deadline to signify its intention to join the final qualifiers will be on October 18, 2015.
