The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee has denied the request of Gilipinas Pilipinas to add Calvin Abueva and Jason Perkins to the 12-man basketball roster, multiple sources told SPIN.ph.
Abueva and Perkins were not on the original 60-man team that the Philippines submitted to the Asian Games organizers, but were called up after the resignation of coach Chot Reyes led to a rejig of the lineup under Tim Cone.
Both were handpicked by Cone as a replacements after Jamie Malonzo and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser were ruled out because of injuries.
The lineup changes, however, required an approval from HAGOC which sources said was unsympathetic to the Philippines' appeal during the final Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) on Sunday.
Worse, sources told SPIN.ph that there is increased anxiety in the Gilas camp that Terrence Romeo and Mo Tautuaa could also be expelled from the lineup Cone is putting together. The reasons, though, were unclear.
At posting time, sources said Gilas' final hope rests in Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino who will be flying to Hangzhou on Tuesday to personally appeal Gilas' case.
If the appeal fails, added with the potential exclusions of Romero and Tautuaa, Gilas could be left with eight players with five days to go before the meet.