Brownlee, Kouame, seven World Cup holdovers lead Gilas Pilipinas' Asian Games roster — POC

Two naturalized players and seven holdovers will lead Gilas Pilipinas when it competes in the Asian Games slated for September 23 in Hangzhou, China.

In a statement, the Philippine Olympic Committee said reinforcements Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame can both suit up for the nationals while 2023 FIBA World Cup members Kiefer Ravena, Scottie Thompson, RR Pogoy, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Japeth Aguilar, and Jamie Malonzo are also in the 12-man roster.

Completing the squad are Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, all of whom were part of Gilas' roster during the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia in May, where they reclaimed the gold medal.

According to POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the lineup was submitted along with those of the 39 other sports or disciplines where Filipino athletes are competing in the Games.

Any changes would need to be appealed to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, he added.

Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Rhenz Abando, Kai Sotto, and naturalized player Jordan Clarkson won't be part of the Asian Games due to their commitment to their mother teams.

Gilas is bunched in Group C and will take on Bahrain on September 26 before slugging it out against SEA Games rival Thailand on September 28. The Filipinos will close out the preliminaries against Jordan on the 30th.

Meanwhile, the SBP and the PBA held a meeting on Monday night to discuss the Asian Games campaign. The two parties will hold a separate press conference on Thursday.

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News