LOCKED AND LOADED

Gilas Pilipinas is locked and loaded for the fifth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

The Philippines will parade a stacked lineup at the Malaysia stop of the qualification tournament’s second round as key young guns return, including high-flying Rhenz Abando, while Bennie Boatwright joins Gilas as its naturalized player.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas announced on Wednesday the final 12-man Gilas squad that will face Syria on 27 November before meeting Iran two days later for a rematch.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone welcomed the addition of the 6-foot-10 Boatwright to reinforce the team as a replacement for Justin Brownlee, who is still dealing with multiple injuries and heart issues.

However, Boatwright, who obtained his Philippine passport last month, won’t be joining Gilas for practice until 23 November as he is still playing with the Fujian Sturgeons in the ongoing Chinese Basketball Association.

“We’re trying to get Bennie to come in earlier, but we can’t at this point. China’s still holding him. You know in FIBA, you only have to be released three days before the actual first game,” Cone said.

The 31-year-old Boatwright will fly directly to Malaysia from China to hook up with Gilas in its last days of training for the must-win games.

“He’s going to meet us in Kuala Lumpur on the 23rd. And that’s tough because, you know, he hasn’t been with us, hasn’t had any time at all,” Cone added.

“So, we’re going to have to try to figure out a way to make him effective within the system and try to tweak it so we can get him effective. And that’s always difficult to do. But he’s a talented guy. He’s going add a lot of talent to the team and size and perimeter shooting. So, you know, he’s a welcome addition.”

Abando, on the other hand, cracked the final roster for the first time since seeing action in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila in 2023.

With Boatwright coming in, Cone will have a formidable front court at his disposal with 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto suiting up once again after making a huge impact in his return in the fourth window last August after more than a year of Gilas hiatus due to a knee injury.

Sotto helped the Filipinos outlast Jordan, 82-81, in overtime with a game-winning block and also dominated the paint in Gilas’ 68-56 victory over Iran.

Also returning to Gilas are 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown and 6-foot-7 Mike Phillips.

Taking another tour of duty are overseas-based mainstays Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu and Kevin Quiambao, along with Philippine Basketball Association stars Juan Gomez de Liaño, CJ Perez, Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome.

Out of the Malaysia stop are Carl Tamayo, who saw action in the fourth window, and veteran Calvin Oftana.

“Carl’s out, Carl’s out with a badly sprained ankle,” Cone said of the Korean-based forward.

Oftana, on the other hand, is expecting his pregnant wife to deliver their baby by the end of the month.

“Calvin has begged off. His wife is delivering at the end of the month, right during that time. So, he begged off and couldn’t make it. He was already part of the original group to go,” Cone said.

Gilas won’t start practicing as a complete unit until six days before the competition as most players are coming in from overseas.

“Everybody else is coming in on the 19th or 20th, we won’t have a full team until we get down to Kuala Lumpur,” the tactician said.

“I’m not 100 percent sure, but my understanding is AJ, Q (Millora-Brown), and Mike Phillips are all joining us in Kuala Lumpur directly from Japan. Dwight’s coming in the day before.