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Pinoys in B.League excited for ‘Gilas reunion’ in Rising Stars Game

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Migs Bustos and Karl Cedrick Basco, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Photos from Japan B.League" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/01/13/01132023-kiefer,-paras-and-thirdy.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Photos from Japan B.League</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Filipino cagers playing in Japan B.League are already excited to suit up as one team in the upcoming 2023 B.League Rising Stars Game on Friday, January 13. </p><p>Nine Pinoy players, who acted as imports in different club teams in Japan, will be teaming up for the Asian All Stars team which will face the up-and-coming Japanese athletes in the league. </p><p>The Asian All Stars will be bannered by brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, alongside Greg Slaughter, Dwight Ramos, Ray Parks, Matthew Wright, Jordan Heading, Kobe Paras and Roosevelt Adams. </p><p>They all became part of Gilas Pilipinas at one point in their career, making the All-Star Game a reunion of the national team.</p><p>“It&#x27;s pretty much like a Gilas reunion. We also have the other Asian imports from other countries so it&#x27;s pretty much like a FIBA all-star game almost but all in the B.League. It&#x27;s pretty impressive,” Ramos told ABS-CBN Sports. </p><p>“It&#x27;s going to be fun. I think all of us were able to play for national team, &#x27;yung mga kasali dun. We all had our fair share of Gilas experience. It&#x27;s going to be fun kasi different generations din &#x27;yung Gilas. Hindi kami lahat nagsama-sama. Nakakatuwa siyang isipin,” Kiefer added. </p><p>Ramos, however, is set to miss the match as his team Levanga Hokkaido announced that the Gilas guard is still recovering from an ankle injury that has already forced him to miss 17 games in the 2022-23 season.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/11/23/injured-ramos-to-miss-bleague-asia-rising-star-game">Injured Ramos to miss B.League Asia Rising Star Game</a></li></ul><p>Thirdy, who is the first Filipino player to play for B.League, also expressed his excitement to see more than one kababayan in a game since playing for SanEn NeoPhoenix.</p><p>“It&#x27;s amazing. It&#x27;s very rare that I get to see more than one Filipino at a time here. Kasi usually &#x27;yung mga kinikita ko lang ay &#x27;yung mga people I played with. It&#x27;s like a culmination of the Filipinos. It&#x27;s a great feeling,” he said. </p><p>Meanwhile, Parks and Slaughter feel honored to be part of the All-Star game and, at the same time, grateful for the B. League for giving them an opportunity to play altogether. </p><p>“It feels great to see familiar faces and us representing the country. We feel great to be here in Japan and represent our flag. I really appreciate the B.League for doing this, for opening the doors. We&#x27;re gonna take advantage of this and make the most out of the opportunity,” Parks said. </p><p>“It&#x27;s an honor to be a part of that. I&#x27;m really looking forward to it. We&#x27;ll be able to play together as Filipinos. It should be interesting to play together,” Slaughter echoed. </p><p>There have been an increasing number of Filipino cagers playing internationally, especially in Japan, and they have been carving their name overseas with the Ravena brothers, Park, Wright, and Heading all scoring in double digit every game in their respective teams. </p><p>According to Kiefer, his experience with Shiga Lakes has been great, as he also fulfilled his dreams to be playing overseas. </p><p>“It&#x27;s an overall adventure playing for Shiga Lakes and welcoming other Filipinos also na nandito sa B. League and naglalaro din. It&#x27;s nice to see them,” he said. </p><p>Parks also celebrated the presence of more Filipinos in the league which is testament to the quality of Philippine basketball.</p><p>“Yung competition talaga mataas e. I&#x27;m glad to see these young guys getting the opportunity to stretch out the boundaries of basketball. I know we can play international,” Parks said. </p><div><strong>Watch the B.League Rising Stars Game live on Sky Cable Channel 260, ABS-CBN Sports YouTube channel, and IwantTFC on January 13, Friday, 6 p.m.</strong></div><div><strong>Related video:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-KvCqN1Rww8?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Filipino cagers playing in Japan B.League are already excited to suit up as one team in the upcoming 2023 B.League Rising Stars Game on Friday. 

Pinoys in B.League excited for ‘Gilas reunion’ in Rising Stars Game

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Pinoys in B.League excited for ‘Gilas reunion’ in Rising Stars Game

Migs Bustos and Karl Cedrick Basco,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 12, 2023 07:38 PM PHT

|

Updated January 13, 2023 06:15 PM PHT

Read More:

Japan B.League

B.League

Basketball

Gilas

Kiefer Ravena

Thirdy Ravena

Greg Slaughter

Dwight Ramos

Ray Parks

Matthew Wright

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