The Gilas 2 Replacements

Quick! Sign him to Gilas 2 before
he gets traded to a San Miguel team

Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, James Yap and Marc Pingris.

All on Chot Reyes' SMART Gilas 2's roster. All under San Miguel Corporation contracts. All have yet to submit their signed letter of intent for playing for flag and country.

From an All-Asian standpoint, that team could very well contend as a legit First Five against everyone but the skilled and tall athletes coming from Iran and China. Against South Korea and Chinese Taipei? That five will more than hold its own offensively and defensively. Santos is the country's best all-around player, Pingris is arguably this side of the world's most tenacious player and Lassiter, Cabagnot and Yap are not all that bad as well.


But, they haven't signed up for Gilas 2. You can't really blame them for it, since it looks to be more of an SMC-wide call rather than their own. If you're SMC, you don't want to have your best guys playing free for a team that's run by your rivals. The chances of them being recruited- or worse, hurt, is too much of a deal breaker for SMC to just simply sign off on. Still, they should be reminded that this is for flag and country first and just let the "what ifs" and other unknown fall where they may.

Given that scenario, Coach Chot should waste no time in assembling his "Gilas 2 replacements." We're not talking about the "cadet" team he's also reportedly keen on preparing backstopped by no less than Keifer Ravena and Ray-Ray Parks, Jr., but a five-man pool of PBA players ready to step in just in case SMC keeps to themselves.

PG JVee Casio
Casio was left off the team for one simple reason: where do you put him in a rotation of Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes and even Cabagnot? Well, turns out Cabagnot's iffy and RR is always a hard play away from getting an injury so having Casio in the backpocket will definitely play big dividends for Team Pilipinas. He's clutch, he's humble and he plays with all his heart despite giving up several inches to the competition. When Alapag's deep threes aren't going in and Castro's having trouble from zone defenses, Casio's going to be the guy to open things up.

SG Sol Mercado
The Sol-Train needs to play for Gilas 2. He's big, strong, has the best handles for any guy his stocky size and could be a handful for the wiry Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and other East Asian guards. Of course, his shooting remains suspect and streaky at best (improving yes, but still not reliable which is the only thing keeping him from really bumping off Mac Cardona as Meralco's go-to-guy) but Mercado is an asset because he's big and quick enough to play both guard positions with ease.

SF Jarred Dillinger
We don't give a rat's ass what you say. Dillinger is the Sunkist-era Kenneth Duremdes. Big things are in this kid's future if only he could play in a team where a lot more is expected of him. His defense is erratic, but he approaches offense the same way be it in tight games or blow-outs-- eyes wide open, wild hair all around and always looking to drive. In Filipino, we call it "gigil maglaro"-- and that's something you always want to see from your players.

PF JayR Reyes
Behind the KKS Doctor Ranidel de Ocampo, there's only one other big man who has all of the post moves and has knees healthy enough to keep playing 48 minutes (sorry idol Kerby Raymundo) and that's this kid, Reyes. Gilas 2 big man Sonny Thoss was included for his wide body and rebounding skills, but if you ask me, we also need a guy to spell RDO and ensure that we're not reduced to a perimeter team in the FIBA tourneys. Yes, Reyes isn't as ripped as Thoss, but what he lacks in heft he makes up for with being nimble and smart. Though considered a "rook" among the PBA's elite, banging bigs (Ildefonsos, Penas, Villanuevas), this writer would take Reyes' offensive skillset over Rico Villanueva-- the so called Gilas 2 enforcer who was discouragingly punked out of the semis by Pingris (that's sad) and whose only post move is bulldozing his way into the paint (nice, if you're going up against guys 6"4 and below but a clear cut offensive foul in the waiting in the FIBA tourney).

C Samigue Eman
A big man project in every sense of the word. Yes. There are five other centers in the PBA who are better skilled than Eman. But they all stand 6"6 and below. Eman on the other hand stands 6"9-6"10 and unlike E.J. Feihl, Andy Seigle and even one-time great Marlou Aquino, has the body of a gladiator. In case you haven't seen Eman (which I don't really blame you since he's been used sparingly to this point), the guy knows his role on the floor. He's not going to ask for the ball to try and stick a pretty jumper in there, he's not going to call for it on the block-- he's going to look to scramble, throw some elbows and try to get the rebounds. Like a Pinoy version of teammate Sonny Thoss really, back when all Thoss knew what to look cute, set picks and grab rebounds. Still, if Doug Kramer stood 6"10, I'd get him over Eman. Anyway, this shouldn't be much of a concern because Eman's bound to play as back-up for Marcus Douthit or whichever naturalized big Gilas 2 gets this time around.

At day's end, even if the San Miguel guys come in and sign on the dotted line, this writer would vehemently push for the inclusion of Casio. The kid can really play.