College of Saint Benilde big man Allen Liwag won’t have time to rest as he will now shift his focus on Gilas Pilipinas for the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.
Gilas head coach Norman Black said he expects Liwag, the reigning Most Valuable Player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), to catch up with the rest of the squad as the prestigious biennial meet formally opens on Tuesday.
The Blazers were eliminated by San Beda University, 81-84, in Game 3 of the NCAA Season 101 semifinals last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“He was only able to attend one day so it's up to him to catch up. He has to learn the plays and learn the defensive systems as quickly as he can,” Black told DAILY TRIBUNE.
“The reason why he was picked is because we lack a little bit of size and he's one of the best big men that we have at the college level here in the Philippines. It's going to help us when we go up against Thailand in particular because they have quite a big team.”
Liwag dropped 10 points for Saint Benilde in Game 3 of the semifinals.
Blazers head coach Charles Tiu said the pain of their semifinals exit will be a good motivator for Liwag as the Philippines guns for its 20th SEA Games cage gold medal.
“Coach Norman wants to win. I think Allen will be a big part of their team, so you got to suck it up,” Tiu said.
“I know it's tough to lose, but he's lucky. At least he can channel this frustration to the next tournament already.”
Liwag will join a Gilas squad composed of Cedrick Manzano of Adamson University and Justin Chua and Abu Tratter of Blackwater.
Completing the Gilas SEA Games squad are Dalph Panopio of the Bossing, Von Pessumal of Titan Ultra, Robert Bolick of NLEX and Veejay Pre of the University of the Philippines as well as overseas-based players Thirdy Ravena, Matthew Wright, Ray Parks and Jamie Malonzo.
Liwag averaged 12.97 points and 9.67 rebounds in 12 games for Saint Benilde in Season 101.
He was also part of the Strong Group Athletics (SGA) sqaud that won back-to-back William Jones Cup titles in 2024 and 2025.
During his SGA stint, Liwag had the chance to work with former National Basketball Association stars Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins.
Gilas will begin their SEA Games campaign on 14 December as they face Malaysia at the Nimibutr Arena in Bangkok at 12:30 p.m. (Manila time).