MANILA (SEABA Championship 2017) - There is no country that has dominated Southeast Asian basketball other than the Philippines, and returning national team coach Chot Reyes intends to keep it that way.

With a shortage of healthy bodies and preparation time running out, the bemedalled bench tactician is aware that, as is often the case in the Philippines, the situation has become harder than it needs to be, but he doesn't let this far-from-ideal setup deter him from their main objective.

"The situation is definitely not ideal," Reyes said in a press conference earlier this week. "But this is better than nothing at all."

Gilas Pilipinas, as the Filipino national side are called, were originally supposed to have 25 of the most promising talents made available by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), but a combination of injuries and club commitments has made it extra difficult for the Gilas braintrust to have a full complement during their periodic practice sessions.

Coach Chot initially planned to cut the national pool to 15 players by this time, but there is no longer any need to do that given the pool's depleted state. Among those sidelined by various injuries are Mac Belo, Russel Escoto and Art Dela Cruz. Even star guard Terrence Romeo has missed a few sessions after being downed by a persistent fever.

"We won’t name 15 anymore," Reyes told local media. "The entire pool has been practicing daily, but players can still play for their mother teams in the PBA and are excused from Gilas practice the day before and on game days.”

All these factors have forced coach Chot and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to modify their plans. In an effort to make the most of a flawed framework, Gilas and the PBA have agreed to make the annual PBA All-Star Week a fertile proving ground for the national team's preparation. The Gilas pool will play a series of three games against a varied selection of PBA All-Stars.

“We’re evaluating every practice in the All-Star Week," Reyes explained. "The intangibles - whoever attends practice and things like that - those factors will be considered."

He intends to trim the pool to the final 12-man SEABA roster by April 28 and hopes they will matchup well with what he expects are other SEABA teams out to pull the rug form under the Filipinos.

"We don’t have a Final 12 yet up to now," he admitted. "We know that Thailand and Indonesia are going to be tough, and we can't discount Singapore and Malaysia."

"We are treating this as a serious competition, and we have no room for error in this tournament."Chot ReyesChot Reyes

One ray of light that had Filipino hoop nuts at the edge of their seats this week was the remote possibility of having Filipino-American NBA rising star Jordan Clarkson don the Gilas kit.

"We’re going to make playing for the Filipino National Team happen," Clarkson said in an interview. "I feel all the support and love from the Filipino fans throughout my years in the NBA, so I’m still trying to do well for them and, hopefully, be able to play for my country."

Sonny Barrios, SBP Executive Director, however, was non-committal about this development.

"Frankly speaking, as far as the SEABA tournament, Clarkson is not in our radar," he said. "Personally, I’ve not been in touch with him, and it isn't good to speculate as far as his involvement with us is concerned."

One guy who is expected be with Gilas at the SEABA Championship 2017, though, is none other than naturalized player Andray Blatche, who is fresh from annexing his first Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) title with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

"We've come to an agreement already," said Gilas team manager Butch Antonio. "We're already fixing the schedule for Andray to come over."

Gilas open their SEABA campaign on May 12 against Myanmar and will have back-to-back assignments opposite Singapore and Malaysia afterwards. The Filipinos draw a bye on May 15 before ending the joust with a three-game gauntlet against upset-conscious Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Only the country with the best record after these seven days will be declared champion and, consequently, advance to FIBA Asia Cup 2017.

FIBA