MANILA (SEABA Championship 2017) - As far as the preparations of the Philippine men's national team are concerned, everything is humming along quite nicely according to team manager Butch Antonio.

Objectively speaking, the Philippines have had to endure some unexpected troubles in their current preparation, especially with a number of players going down with injuries. Most notable among these is rising star Mac Belo, who was among the leading scorers in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016. Russell Escoto and Arthur Dela Cruz have also been relegated to the sidelines with their own injuries, while, most recently, star swingman Calvin Abueva has not been cleared by team doctors after getting a busted lip that resulted in eight stitches. Even flashy and charismatic scorer Terrence Romeo has not been 100% after a bout with high fever, and that's in addition to some players being excused from practice because of their PBA commitments.

Still, in spite of it all, Antonio chooses to see the silver lining, and he emphasized how, even with all these unforeseen events hounding the team, Gilas are progressing well enough to mount a near impregnable title defense in the SEABA Championship, which Manila will host from 12-18 May.

This much the team manager bared to FIBA.com in a recent interview.

How are the Gilas preparations so far? Are they to your satisfaction?
We started with the three-day training camp in the town of Tagaytay about a month ago, and from there it set a good tone. Coach Chot Reyes was able to put it all in order in terms of expectations. Everyone is upbeat and enthusiastic in practice. The build-up is pretty good. We've moved to daily practices already, but, of course, there are limitations because some are still playing with their PBA teams. We are pretty satisfied so far.

Will Terrence Romeo be able to play in the SEABA Championship 2017?
Terrence has been sickly of late, and we have been monitoring his situation. His health is a little bit up and down, and he recently got out of the hospital. It would be ideal to see him on the floor and play, but our concern also is his health and welfare. I told him to go back to take his vitamins and build up his immune system. It's just that he is trying to put on more muscle, and maybe this is how his body is responding to that.

What is the status/details about Andray Blatche?
Oh Andray is good to go already. We have come to terms with his participation. We're just giving him time to recover and celebrate his CBA title. He knows about the SEABA tournament, he wants to play, and he is ready. We will fly him to Manila before the end of the month, and before we announce the final roster on April 28.

FIBA