RJ Abarrientos, Ralph Cu to join Gilas as practice players

RJ Abarrientos and Ralph Cu will get to help the national team after the Barangay Ginebra duo was invited by Gilas Pilipinas to join the squad in its training camp at the Insports Sports Academy.

Gilas team manager Alfrancis Chua bared the development as they let Justin Brownlee and Troy Rosario recuperate from minor injuries while also saying Abarrientos and Cu are already familiar with the system of head coach Tim Cone. 

Abarrientos and Cu, though, won't be joining Gilas when it flies for Doha on February 13 as Chua stressed they will just join the practices to make up for the spots of Brownlee and Rosario.

"Pero ‘yung iba magpapahinga katulad si Troy, sa tuhod. Si Brownlee may blister, so pagpapahingahin na muna namin so magaakyat kami para alam ‘yung sistema, papaakyatin namin si Cu at si Abarrientos para sa ensayo makumpleto lang habang nagpapahinga ‘yung iba," Chua said on the sidelines of the PBA’s logo unveiling for its 50th anniversary on Monday in Mandaluyong.

"Hindi [sila kasama sa Doha], dito lang sa Inspire para lang makumpleto lang ‘yung ensayo namin."

[But some will get some rest like Troy, for his knee. Brownlee has a blister, so we will rest him. So we'll call up some who know the system, we'll call up Cu and Abarrientos to practice so we can be complete while the others are out... They will just join us here in Inspire so that we can have be complete at practice.]

B.League imports AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos will arrive later today to rejoin Gilas while KBL import Carl Tamayo and Meralco guard Chris Newsome will go directly from Korea and Taiwan, where the Bolts will see action in the East Asia Super League (EASL).

—JMB, GMA Integrated News