JB OUT, CALVIN IN: Gilas Pilipinas finally complete as Oftana secures 12th spot

It’s final, no Justin Brownlee in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

After a long wait, Gilas Pilipinas is going all-local after all in its gold medal defense in the 20th edition of the Asiad.

Sidelined by a spate of injuries and recovering for the past two months, the 38-year-old hero of the Philippines’ golden conquest in the pandemic-delayed quadrennial meet three years ago was scratched from the lineup of 12-man Gilas squad composed of stars from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Head coach Tim Cone announced on Wednesday that the team is bringing in Calvin Oftana to replace the naturalized player Brownlee just a couple of days before Gilas opens its Group C campaign against Bahrain on Friday at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya.

The TNT shooter is on his way to Nagoya at press time, formally making him as the only member of the Gilas squad that won the historic Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou who will suit up in this batch of Nationals composed of Philippine Basketball Association players.

“Calvin Oftana is stepping in as our 12th man. He is arriving this afternoon, we hope, in time to make our practice schedule today,” Cone said through a Viber message to DAILY TRIBUNE on Wednesday morning.

Oftana is on the initial list of names submitted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to the organizers. Participating teams are allowed to replace players only with those on the submitted entry by name list.

“Calvin was always on the list to play, but we were uncertain of his health status. He has since returned to TNT’s practice and is good to go,” Cone explained.

The 30-year-old Oftana has already recovered from hamstring and toe issues that forced him to miss Gilas’ campaign in the last two windows of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Oftana, who also missed games for the Tropang 5G in the PBA Governors’ Cup, is making his return for the tricolor since his last appearance in the second window of the World Cup Qualifiers back in February.

The 2023 Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, however, will only have a couple of days to build chemistry with a very different Gilas side, system-wise and personnel-wise.

Oftana is the lone player left from the gold-medal-winning Gilas, which will be playing in a faster and quicker system due to a lack of size.

And he has to do it quickly, with Gilas scheduled to take on a multiple import-reinforced Bahrain crew on Friday.

Cone, however, is clinging to Oftana’s familiarity with the system and experience playing with Gilas. Oftana will have huge shoes to fill as a replacement for Brownlee.