BACOLOD City-hailed Samjosef “SJ” Belangel will be suiting up for the Gilas Pilipinas Wednesday night, June 16, when host-Philippines take on the visiting South Korea in the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers to be played at the Angeles University Foundation gym in Clark, Pampanga.
The 21-year-old and 6-foot court general will be joining Coach Tab Baldwin's young but competitive Philippine squad after Gilas recently lost guards Matt Nieto and Dave Ildefonso to injuries.
In the shared statement by his uncle and Jr. NBA coach Mark “Tata” Belangel, SJ said they are focused on the task at hand and no destruction.
"We will do our best to make our country proud, especially Bacolod," said the younger Belangel, who is a third year Interdisciplinary Studies student-athlete at University Ateneo de Manila.
Comparing his preparation during his Batang Gilas stint, Belangel said Gilas Pilipinas direction has a “big difference.”
"In the men's national team, you're dealing with taller, more athletic, battle-tested players, and very high basketball IQ players. Meanwhile, Batang Gilas were younger and more dependent on the coaching," he said.
"Coach Tab [Baldwin] emphasizes more on the system, and not on the individual talent. We have our different roles inside the team," the Bacolod City-pride added.
On the other hand, his father, Sammy, felt humbled by the opportunity that they gave to his son. "But, we are praying for a successful campaign for our team Gilas Pilipinas," he stressed.
Completing the 12-man squad are naturalized 6'10-center Angelo Kouame, 7'3 slotman Kai Sotto; forwards Justine Baltazar (6'9), Carl Tamayo (6'7), William Navarro (6'6), and team skipper Isaac Go (6'8); and guards Dwight Ramos (6'5), Javi Gomez de Liano (6'5), Mike Nieto (6'2), Jaydee Tungcab (6'3) and, RJ Abarrientos (5'11).
With this roster, Gilas Pilipinas able to form the tallest team with a 6'7 average height.