Gilas Pilipinas faces the possibility of having just 11 players following Kevin Alas’ decision to pull out of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam due to personal reasons.
Alas is skipping the biennial meet to be with his wife Selina, who revealed a few weeks ago that she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer known as Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia
Jaydee Tungcab was tapped as Alas’ replacement, with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas hoping that its request for a last-minute change will be approved by SEA Games organizers.
The NLEX guard was one of eight PBA players named last week to the Gilas roster for the competition, joining B.League cagers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Will Navarro and LeBron Lopez.
Fellow PBA cagers June Mar Fajardo, Matthew Wright, RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Mo Tautuaa, Isaac Go and Kib Montalbo will still be donning the Gilas jersey for the men’s basketball competitions which begins Monday, May 16.
Games in the standard five-on-five event will be held at the Thanh Trì District Sporting Hall in Hanoi.