Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Adrian Nocum and Caelan Tiongson, and Converge FiberXer Justin Arana are among the players included in the 30‑player Gilas Pilipinas pool for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
Nocum, Tiongson, and Arana are first‑time call‑ups, and all are playing superbly in the season‑ending PBA Governors’ Cup. In fact, both Nocum and Arana have earned Player of the Week honors this conference already.
PBA’s Best Make Up Majority of List
Joining Nocum, Tiongson, and Arana in the initial roster of names Gilas Pilipinas submitted to the Asian Games organizing committee are naturalized players Justin Brownlee, Bennie Boatwright, and Ange Kouame; June Mar Fajardo, Cjay Perez, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Don Trollano from the San Miguel Beermen; Scottie Thompson, Troy Rosario, and RJ Abarrientos from Barangay Ginebra San Miguel; Calvin Oftana, Jordan Heading, and Brandon Ganuelas‑Rosser from the TNT Tropang 5G; Justine Baltazar and Juan Gómez de Liaño from Converge; Chris Newsome and Brandon Bates from the Meralco Bolts; and Sedrick Barefield (Blackwater Bossing), Robert Bolick (NLEX Road Warriors), Zavier Lucero (Magnolia Hotshots), and Jason Perkins (Phoenix Fuel Masters).
Fajardo, Perez, Thompson, Rosario, Abarrientos, Oftana, Heading, Baltazar, Gómez de Liaño, Newsome, and Bolick have all played for Gilas in FIBA tournaments. Fajardo, Rosario, Abarrientos, Baltazar, Gómez de Liaño, and Newsome also played for Gilas in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Ganuelas‑Rosser, meanwhile, has donned the Gilas Pilipinas jersey in the Southeast Asian Games. Ahanmisi and Perkins, on the other hand, have played for the national team in 3×3 competitions. Trollano was named to the Gilas pool back in 2019, while Lucero, Barefield, and Bates are getting their first crack at potentially making the team.
Exports Still Included
Curiously, Tim Cone and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas still included Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Quentin Millora‑Brown, Jamie Malonzo, and Mike Phillips in the initial list of players for the Asiad—this despite Japan B.League not guaranteeing the release of players under contract for competitions not sanctioned by FIBA.
KBL exports Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao, meanwhile, were not included in the initial roster, as the Korean league is reportedly holding back on Filipinos, according to veteran scribe Quinito Henson.
Gilas Pilipinas’ Naturalized Conundrum
Worth keeping an eye on as well is the situation with Brownlee and Boatwright. Brownlee, as of this writing, is still recovering from leg injuries sustained during the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, which were severe enough to sideline him in Gilas Pilipinas’ game against Australia in the third window.
Boatwright, on the other hand, is still waiting for his naturalization to be fully consummated. The bill has already lapsed into law, and the 15‑day publication period is over as well. What’s left now is for him to take his official Oath of Allegiance and receive his Certificate of Naturalization—and the hope is that all will be in order when the final Gilas Pilipinas lineup is submitted for approval.
The 20th Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4, 2026, in Aichi‑Nagoya, Japan.
