Gilas Pilipinas began their road to the Olympics anew with perfect attendance at their first practice on Monday night at Meralco Gym in Pasig City.
June Mar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Marc Pingris, Ian Sangalang, Troy Rosario, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Gabe Norwood, Marcio Lassiter, Jeff Chan, Ryan Reyes, Jayson Castro, Terrence Romeo, and LA Tenorio all arrived early for warm-ups.
Even Calvin Abueva, who had just arrived from Dubai after playing back-to-back PBA games, and Paul Lee, who is nursing a knee injury, came to join the team meeting but sat out the shooting drills and walkthroughs.
End of practice huddle for Gilas. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/287qBTq52I
— Marisse Panaligan (@marspanaligan) November 9, 2015
"It's a hundred percent attendance, so I'm a hundred percent happy," said head coach Tab Baldwin after practice.
Only veteran Ranidel de Ocampo was missing from the 17-man pool, as the Talk 'N Text forward is still recovering from the back injury he sustained while doing weights at the beginning of the PBA season.
Dondon Hontiveros, JC Intal, and Gary David, who were members of the last Gilas pool, also dropped by to meet the new squad, as Baldwin invited them to ease the transition and carry over the chemistry of the previous team.
"We appreciate the opportunity to work with the guys because all progress is important progress," the coach said about the weekly practice sessions of the national team.
With the PBA currently in season, Gilas Pilipinas players only have Mondays to meet and train for the Olympic qualifiers in July next year.
Baldwin said, however, that the compromise is only fair for the players who also need to prioritize their mother ball clubs.
"Although we will not be going at a rabbit's pace forward, we'll be something better than a snail's pace," he said. "I'm happy we have what we have, we're gonna make the most out of it." --JST, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
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