Uichico says nobody dropped from team

National coach Jong Uichico said nobody has been dropped from the 15-man national team, contrary to reports, and he would stick to his original plan of keeping the team intact until the final countdown to the Busan Asian Games next month.

In fact, he said that they could make the final composition of the Selecta-RP squad during the team managers’ meeting on Sept. 26 in Busan prior to the opening of the Games.

The Nationals completed their two-game series with the young and inexperienced Taiwanese squad last night in Ynares Center and will move up next against the Melbourne Tigers, one of the leading teams in the tough Australian league.

Uichico maintained that nobody has been cut from the national squad although he admitted that Purefoods’ Boyet Fernandez has "been advised that there may be a possibility that he may be on the reserve list."

"But nothing is definite yet and we are sticking to our original plan to keep the team intact until we reach Busan. These are all speculations," he said, adding that Chris Jackson, Mick Pennisi and Dondon Hontiveros are "not borderline cases" in the team.

A list of 12 players has been sent to the Philippine Olympic Committee for the purpose of meeting the Aug. 15 deadline for submission of named entries as required by the Busan organizing committee but the names were picked at random.

The final roster of the team would be made during the managers’ meeting among the 13 nations vying for the gold in basketball in the quadrennial meet where the country last won 40 years ago.

The Aussie series is set Aug. 29 and 31 with the Melbourne Tigers to be handled by coach Lindsay Gaze, who saw action here with visiting Australian teams at the height of RP amateur basketball in the late 70s.

" This will be a good series because the Australians are definitely tougher. Pangsabak na talaga, unlike the Chinese-Taipei squad which is under a development program, " said Uichico.

Among those expected to boost the Melbourne team, which has won the Australian championship in 1983 and 1993, are league MVP Mark Bradtke, former PBA imports Marcus Timmons and Lanard Copeland and Andrew Gaze, a Seton Hall product and a member of the 1999 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.— Lito A. Tacujan