Gilas Pilipinas faces training woes due to schedule conflicts

Gilas Pilipinas may have its final roster for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games this December, but gathering the players for training is a different story.

Head coach Norman Black revealed that trying to gather the players to train as a team has proved to be more difficult than originally thought.

Most of the Gilas troops are playing professionally and are in the midst of their respective seasons, such as the PBA, Japanese B.League, Korean Basketball League (KBL), Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), and UAAP.

“My biggest concern now is preparation, getting everyone together for practice,” Black, who is also a part of the Meralco Bolts’ coaching staff, said.

“It’s not going to be easy at this point in the schedule, but I’m confident that as we get closer to the tournament, we’ll be able to hold enough practices to be ready,” added Black. “I estimate we’ll get about 23 days of practice in total. Some days will be twice-a-day sessions, some at Inspire, where we can have the entire team together to build chemistry as quickly as possible.

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Norman Black braces for tough SEA Games defense with Gilas Pilipinas https://t.co/NmtPXP2aUr

— The Manila Times (@TheManilaTimes) October 20, 2025

Newly recruited Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser has been allowed by TNT Tropang 5G to compete for Gilas, but has yet to train due to the Tropang 5G’s schedule in the PBA.

Jason Brickman and Dave Ildefonso’s statuses for training are also uncertain as they prepare for the MPBL playoffs with the Abra Solid North Weavers.

College standouts Mike Phillips and Kymani Ladi’s availabilities also depend on the DLSU Green Archers and Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Final Four journeys.

The returning Bobby Ray Parks is also expected to miss time in practice after his Osaka Evessa only allowed him to leave on Dec. 9.

“Dave Ildefonso and Brickman are playing for Abra in the MPBL, and depending on how long their league goes, they could be late arrivals. Hopefully, they can still catch a few practices and join five-on-five sessions,” said the former Ateneo coach.

“Ray Parks will also arrive around 9 December since he still has games in Japan. I’m also not sure when the UAAP will finish — when Ateneo or La Salle might either win the championship or get eliminated — but we’ll do our best to get everyone together and form a competitive team for the SEA Games,” Black added.

Gilas Pilipinas will test their mettle in the SEA Games slated for Dec. 9 to 20 in Thailand.

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