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Gilas Pilipinas always welcome to participate in PBA, says chairman

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Will we see the Philippine national team compete in the PBA? File photo. FIBA.basketball" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/11/10/gilas.jpg"/><figcaption>Will we see the Philippine national team compete in the PBA? File photo. <em>FIBA.basketball</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines -- There remains an open invitation for Gilas Pilipinas to play in the PBA as a guest team, as the league continues to seek ways to help the national team program.</p><p>PBA chairman Ricky Vargas stressed that the offer they made to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) some months ago still stands.</p><p>&quot;The invitation has always been there, always open,&quot; Vargas said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday morning. </p><p>PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said in April that they welcome the national team&#x27;s participation in the Philippine Cup, which would have helped Gilas prepare for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.</p><p>It didn&#x27;t come to fruition as the All-Filipino Cup was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the possibility was brought up again in July after Gilas&#x27; competitions. At the time, head coach Tab Baldwin acknowledged that the PBA is &quot;a potential possibility for us&quot; especially with the Gilas players needing actual game time.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/28/21/basketball-pba-willing-to-feature-gilas-in-ph-cup">READ: PBA willing to feature Gilas in PH Cup</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/12/21/playing-in-pba-an-option-as-gilas-needs-games">READ: Playing in PBA an option as Gilas &#x27;needs games&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>The PBA concluded its All-Filipino Cup in October and plans to open the Governors&#x27; Cup on November 28, and the national team is still welcome to compete there.</p><p>&quot;We welcome that, &#x27;no, especially to be able to see &#x27;yung Gilas team natin, maglaro sa PBA,&quot; said Vargas.</p><p>However, they have yet to hear of concrete plans from the SBP, the league chairman also said.</p><p>&quot;Sa ngayon wala pa kaming naririnig sa SBP, but &#x27;yung offer na &#x27;yun, laging nandoon,&quot; he stressed.</p><p>Ryan Gregorio, the special assistant to SBP president Al Panlilio, told ABS-CBN News that they are grateful for the PBA&#x27;s continued support of the national team program.</p><p>&quot;We have to discuss how to operationalize it,&quot; Gregorio said of the PBA&#x27;s offer.</p><p>&quot;But the PBA has always been an ally of the Gilas program and the SBP in general,&quot; he added. &quot;We are very thankful for the strong partnership. All in the spirit of supporting and developing our national team.&quot;</p><p>The national team has previously competed in PBA conferences, including in the 1980s when the Ron Jacobs-coached NCC Philippine Team ruled the 1985 Reinforced Conference. Smart Gilas Pilipinas also competed in the 2011 PBA Commissioner&#x27;s Cup.</p><p>Gilas Pilipinas faces a packed schedule for 2022 that includes the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, the Southeast Asian Games, and the Asian Games.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/05/21/stacked-2022-calendar-is-perfect-lead-up-to-world-cup">READ: &#x27;Stacked 2022 calendar is perfect lead-up to World Cup&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/05/21/sbp-still-pursuing-clarkson-for-2023-fiba-world-cup">READ: SBP still pursuing Clarkson for 2023 FIBA World Cup</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1710977" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

There remains an open invitation for Gilas Pilipinas to play in the PBA as a guest team.

Gilas Pilipinas always welcome to participate in PBA, says chairman

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Gilas Pilipinas always welcome to participate in PBA, says chairman

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 10, 2021 11:31 AM PHT

Read More:

PBA

Gilas Pilipinas

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas

SBP

Ricky Vargas

Ryan Gregorio

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