Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officials are in the United States with hopes of discovering young players who will play for Gilas Youth, and eventually, for Gilas Pilipinas
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas Youth is in the process of finding new talent overseas with the goal of producing future players for the national senior team.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy and talent identification coach Norman Black flew to the United States for the SBP Las Vegas Showcase staged in search of young players who are eligible to play for the national squad.
There, Dy and Black met with Filipino-American groups to discuss the dual citizenship of national team prospects.
Under FIBA rules, mixed heritage players must acquire the passport of the country they choose to represent before turning 16 years old for them to considered a local.
The talent identification program comes after Gilas Youth competed in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey, where the team finished 16th after the untimely injury of star Kieffer Alas.
“It’s a real process that goes throughout the year. We only see the end result, which is the Gilas team. But there’s a lot of stuff going on with the youth teams,” said Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone.
“The World Cup just finished in Turkey. That team was good,” Cone added. “They just really lacked size. They need to go out and find guys that can compete at the world stage that are bigger. And that’s what Norman and Erika are looking to do.”
Gilas Pilipinas boasts of one of its biggest lineups in recent memory, with 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-10 AJ Edu bolstering the frontline.
Sotto has been representing the Philippines for nearly a decade, suiting up in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup and 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he and Edu teamed up.
The hope is to discover players like Sotto, Edu, 6-foot-8 Carl Tamayo to play for Gilas Youth, and eventually, for Gilas Pilipinas.
“She is basically looking for jewels in the rough that she can pluck out and continue the future of the program,” said Cone of Dy.
“The key is that she is trying to get younger players to get their passports by the age of 16. And that needs to be communicated to the communities.”
Gilas Youth U18 is currently competing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the FIBA Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers.– Rappler.com
