SBP has submitted the Final 12 line-up for FIBA Asia 2015 Championship of Gilas Pilipinas Basketball. The team includes Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Andray Blatche, Ranidel De Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, Matt Ganuelas Rosser, Calvin Abueva, JC Intal, Dondon Hontiveros, Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro. Not included were Jordan Clarkson, who failed to get his release papers from the LA Lakers in time for submission deadline, and Gary David, Moala Tautuaa, Troy Rosario and Aldrech Ramos.

The Gilas 3.0 players named to FIBA Asia 2015 will undergo a rigid training in preparation for the Changsha joust and will appear in public for the last time in the MVP Cup slated this week. The Filipinos will face Taiwan NT, New Zealand Wellington Saints and Talk N Text of the PBA.

Andray Blatche rejoined the team on Monday after missing the entire William Jones Cup tournament due to family emergency. Blatche will have to mince no time to be in perfect shape for the upcoming FIBA Asia wars. The addition of the NBA Nets veteran will give a complex dimension to the dribble drive system of Gilas and may confound opposition with the likes of Yi Jianlian, Hamed Haddadi and Quincy Davis.

Blatche was supposed to suit-up for Pilipinas Basketball in the 2014 Asian Games, but South Korean defiance of FIBA ruling and obvious host homecooking prevented the NBA center from playing for RP Team.

As reported, Jordan Clarkson will not be able to play for the Philippines in FIBA Asia due to conflict with the schedule with LA Lakers practices. However, it must be noted that SBP can change any player in the line-up until the first day of the FIBA Asia tournament. It remains to be seen if Clarkson (in case he gets a Lakers and FIBA greenlight) will be reinserted in the roster, or the likes of Junmar Fajardo, LA Tenorio, or Paul Lee be named at the last minute.

Curiously missing from the final line-up was veteran Gary David who topscored for Pilipinas in their final Jones Cup game. It must have been a choice between the younger Intal and the scorer in David. Intal was the first choice of coach Tab Baldwin and is obviously the better defender, younger hustler, and who can also be a threat in the arc and perimeter.