WILL there be players available for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers?
That’s the burning question begging for an answer in what is shaping up to be an exodus of national team cagers.
Fil-Aussie guard Jordan Heading is set to bring his act to Taiwan after signing up with the Taichung Suns last Wednesday.
The likes of Jason Brickman (Kaohsiung Aquas) and Caelan Tiongson (Taoyuan Leopards) have also chosen to play in the upstart Taiwanese league.
Heading is the seventh member of the Gilas training pool who opted to play overseas after Kai Sotto (Adelaide), Dwight Ramos (Toyama Grouses), Thirdy Ravena (San-En NeoPhoenix), Kemark Cariño (Aomori Wat’s), Javi Gomez de Liaño (Ibaraki Robots), Kobe Paras (Niigata Albirex), and Juan Gomez de Liaño (Earthfriends Tokyo Z).
PBA stars Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks Jr., both Gilas players, are also proving their worth in the Japan B. League.
Heading suited up for the all-amateur Philippine five in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark where the team completed an emphatic 3-0 sweep and 6-0 record overall where he averaged 6.5 points and 1.5 assists.
He also saw action for Gilas in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia and was good for 14.5 points and 3.0 assists.
Heading, 25, was the top pick in the special Gilas draft last March by Terrafirma. A product of California Baptist University, Heading played for the Philippine youth team in 2011 in the FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
The Philippines will host Group A games of the World Cup qualifiers in February next year.
These games are two Gilas -South Korea tiffs, two New Zealand-India matches, Gilas-New Zealand, Gilas-India, South Korea-India, and South Korea-New Zealand games.
