Make way for Diaz, Gilas

Here come the big guns.

- By REYNALD MAGALLON

The Gilas Pilipinas men's and women's squad along with Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and the rest of the weightlifting team are scheduled to arrive in the Thai capital on Thursday, Dec. 11, before opening their respective gold medal bids in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in the coming days here.Making do of the limited time they have together, the Gilas Men are looking to reassert their supremacy in the region when they begin their title-retention bid on Sunday.

Although hastily built, largely due to the flip-flopping of the eligibility rules, the Nationals, headed by coach Norman Black, remain the benchmark in basketball in the SEA Games and still the favorite to go all the way.

Gilas will be banking on the veteran presence of Japan B.League players and former national team mainstays Ray Parks Jr., Thirdy Ravena, Matthew Wright and Jamie Malonzo, along with PBA veterans Justin Chua, Abu Tratter, Von Pessumal and Robert Bolick.

Injecting the young bloods, of course, are Dalph Panopio, Allen Liwag, Cedrick Manzano and Veejay Pre.