To beef up their depleted line up, the Philippine Patriots may tap ex-pros in their bid to win a back-to-back crown in the coming 2nd ASEAN Basketball League season.

The Patriots lost four players – Nonoy Baclao, Elmer Espiritu, Val Acuña, and Khasim Mirza to the recent PBA Rookie Draft – but team co-owner Mikee Romero remains confident that they can form in a competitive team.

“For sure we will field a competitive team. And base on the number of talents that are available, we we'll have a hard time selecting players,” Patriots coach Louie Alas said in Wednesday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s United Nations Avenue.

Team officials said they are likely to tap those players who were not drafted in the PBA.

Among the holdovers from last season is bruising forward Jerwin Gaco, who recently had a stint with Barako Coffee in the PBA, and guard Warren Ybañez, currently playing for Cebu in the Tournament of the Philippines.