Skipper Chris Tiu said a 10-man roster—four of them nursing injuries—will represent the country in the June 23 to 26 event.

Top guard JV Casio and former pro Japeth Aguilar have feet injuries, Chris Lutz has a hurting quadricep, while Dylan Ababou is still recovering from a fever, leaving head coach Rajko Toroman six healthy players for the qualifying tournament for the Fiba-Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China, this September.

“Despite the injuries, I think we will be fine and we’re eager to play and win the gold,” said Tiu.

The team will depart for Jakarta on Tuesday.

Two other team members, Greg Slaughter and Aldrech Ramos, won’t be able to join the trip because of their commitment with their schools in the coming 74th University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Slaughter will be playing his first season with three-time champion Ateneo, while Ramos is on his final year with Far Eastern University.

The Smart Gilas five is already without its reinforcements from the Philippine Basketball Association—Jimmy Alapag and Kelly Williams of Talk ’N Text, Asi Taulava of Meralco and Dondon Hontiveros of Air21 chose to skip the event to help their respective mother teams’ in the season-ending Governor’s Cup.

“I’m still confident that we can win the gold in Seaba,” said Toroman, whose team came from a fourth-place finish in the recent Fiba-Asia Champions Cup held at the PhilSports Arena.

The top three teams in the Seaba tournament will represent Southeast Asia in the Fiba-Asia tournament proper, which offers one slot to the 2012 London Olympics.

Naturalized player Macus Douthit just returned from the US after marrying his girlfriend, according to Tiu.

The Nationals will play in Malaysia on June 23, Indonesia the next day and Singapore on June 25. The top two teams after the single round elimination will play in the finals on the June 26.

(Joel Orellana)