By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ilonggos Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena were named to the 21-player national men’s basketball team pool for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the Philippines this August.

This will serve as the Gilas Pilipinas return for the Ravena brothers after missing the last two windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers due to their Japan B.League commitments.

The Gilas Pilipinas pool released by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) on late Tuesday night, June 6, also shows a mixture of PBA players and Filipino cagers who were playing in Japan and South Korea.

Bannering the pool were naturalized players Jordan Clarkson of Utah Jazz, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings’ resident import Justin Brownlee and former Ateneo Blue Eagles center Angelo Kouame.

PBA players Japeth Aguilar, Earl Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo of the Kings; Roger Pogoy, John Paul Erram and Calvin Oftana of TNT Tropang Giga; Jaymar Perez and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beermen; and Chris Newsome of Meralco Bolts were also listed.

Aside from the Ravena brothers, other Japan B.League players Dwight Ramos, Jordan Heading, Carl Tamayo, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., and Kai Sotto were also invited by the SBP for the pool.

Capping off the list were Rhenz Abando, who is playing for Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation in the Korean Basketball League, and the United States-based AJ Edu.

Gilas Pilipinas are slotted with powerhouse Italy, Dominican Republic and Angola in Group A, where matches will be held at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan and Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The no. 40 ranked Philippines, which is to be handled by Vincent “Chot” Reyes, needed to finish in the top two of the group stage for a chance to move on to the next round of the competition.

During the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, the Joseller “Yeng” Guiao-mentored national men’s basketball team dropped all of their matches in the group stage and classification round./ASC, WDJ