Jordan Clarkson’s failure to suit up gave Don Trollano a golden opportunity to compete in the 18th Asian Games next week.
National team head coach Yeng Guiao said they will elevate Trollano to the final roster when they meet ranking Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officials in the general technical meeting Monday.
Trollano, in fact, already flew to Jakarta with 11 other players late Sunday, three days before facing Kazakhstan in the opening salvo.
“Don is not in the lineup, but we’ll make a submission in today’s managers’ meeting. We will submit his name, hoping that they will allow us to replace Clarkson,” Guiao told the Daily Tribune in a telephone conversation.
Deputy chief of mission Robert Bachmann said the switch is still an option for as long as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas can justify it before the OCA and INASGOC officials.
Housing is probably the biggest issue affecting people the world over.
Malacañang on Monday called for a more thorough investigation into the questioned flood control projects in Taguig…
The defense on Monday backed the move by senator-judges to exclude a prosecution witness who testified on the firearms…
“Of course they can do it. Don is part of their long list,” said Bachmann, who made sure that everybody will be accredited in the delegation registration meeting Friday.
But just in case Guiao failed to enter Trollano, he said he is ready to play with only 11 players composed of Rain or Shine core Chris Tiu, Maverick Ahanmisi, James Yap, Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan as well as Stanley Pringle of Globalport, JP Erram of Blackwater, Asi Taulava of NLEX and Christian Standhardinger of San Miguel.
The Philippines is grouped with China and Kazakhstan in Group D.
In order to advance, the Filipinos must finish in the top two to be on track of matching or surpassing their seventh-place finish in the previous staging of the Games in Incheon in 2014.