Javi Gomez de Liaño has been cut from the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia.

First reported by Tiebreaker Times, the 22-year-old University of the Philippines Maroons standout is the first cut made from the team with head coach Tab Baldwin saying they would only be bringing around 12 to 13 players for the matches against Serbia and the Dominican Republic.

De Liaño only got to play in one game in the recently concluded FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Pampanga. The 6-foot-5 forward had four points and four rebounds versus Indonesia. In spite of this development, de Liaño shared he is looking forward to recovering from a strained quad and then, preparing for the UAAP and another run with the Gilas.

“I’m very grateful for Gilas and Coach Tab. I’m always one call away whenever they need me,” de Liaño said in a talk with Tiebreaker Times.

“Now that school is almost done and I’m about to graduate, I can fully focus now getting back to my top shape and rehabbing my injury for, hopefully, the next Gilas bubble,” he added. (JNP)