Lebron boosts Gilas lineup

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas bolstered its training pool anew with the addition of teen star Lebron Lopez for the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, according to coach Chot Reyes.

The TNT coach said the 18-year-old Lopez attended the Gilas training yesterday at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center in Quezon City ahead of the Feb. 24-28 tilt at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Lopez joined Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Robert Bolick and the core of the TNT Tropang Giga as reinforcements for Gilas that is reduced to a few cadets in Will Navarro, Jaydee Tungcab and Tzaddy Rangel.

Naturalized player Ange Kouame is also in the fray as Gilas races against time before its collision against South Korea, New Zealand and India in Group A.

For Lopez, it will be his return to national team duties after suiting up in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers under former mentor Tab Baldwin.

He played in one game of the last window in Clark, tallying eight points, five rebounds and a steal as Gilas trounced Indonesia to complete a 6-0 sweep.