The Replacements

Reunited and it feels so gooooood (sa Gilas ha)

SMART Gilas II head coach Chot Reyes has finally surrendered to the silent war being played by both Manny V. Pangilinan and San Miguel Corporation parties. There's no point in waiting for players from the San Miguel camp to submit their Letters of Intent to play for flag and country. We don't need divas be it player's decision or orders from the management.

This writer is on the side of Reyes because he was chosen to spearhead the National team. Not just another Pangilinan squad, but a team that will be sent out to actually represent us in international tournaments. Had the roles been reversed, I'd do and say the same things. That the best players should play for the National team. That their respective employers allow them to do so-- I refuse to believe that James Yap, Marc Pingris, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos have no interest whatsoever in playing for Gilas II.


In their place, Coach Chot has picked the following players:

Jarred Dillinger (Talk 'n' Text)
In Coach Chot's spread out, hustle-run and gun offense, Dillinger is the ideal guy coming off the bench. We've said this before and we'll say it again, Dillinger has all the makings of a prime time PBA superstar. Only problem is, he doesn't get a lot of touches owing to his superstar teammates and because he remains iffy on the defensive end. But in short minutes such as those played in the FIBA tourneys, Dillinger's ball-handling skills, fearless drives to the hoop, streaky three ball and overall tenacity makes him an even better pick than Gilas II shoo-in Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine.

Sol Mercado (Meralco)
This choice is rather tricky if you ask me. We've seen great one-on-one ballers in the mold of Mercado struggle in the FIBA-Asia scene before: Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and even Willie Miller. The only iso-heavy guy who made waves was Cyrus Baguio, and that was more of him being such a creative finisher rather than really breaking opponent's ankles. Defensively, Mercado is a wide-bodied guard who could easily shift from playing the 1 to 2 spots for Coach Chot. On offense, the KKS Kamika-Sol is a streaky jumpshooter who may prove to be a liability against great zone defenses. Against other East Asian teams however, look for Mercado to just flat out run through Chinese, Japanese and Korean guards.

JVee Casio (Powerade)
How's this for a PG rotation? Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, Jimmy Alapag and now, Casio. This is arguably the best and most potent PG rotation in the history of the Philippine's Men's Basketball Team. Alex Cabagnot's creativity and wizardry on the break will be missed, but in the FIBA tourney, it always pays dividends to have shooters--specially if they're your point men on the floor at all times. That, plus we will never again question Casio's shooting prowess on any stage.

Mac Baracael (Alaska)
From a "best 2-way PBA small forwards" perspective, I'd rank Arwind Santos as number one followed by Dylan Ababou (Ginebra) as number 2 and Baracael somewhere around Top 6 or 7 overall. Though he's put on PBA weight probably to play the power forward position, he still moves around with a sense of purpose on the floor. Defensively, he's a step slower than before, but on offense, he knows his strengths and is able to pick his spots. He's not half the rebounder that Santos or Marc Pingris is, but if you want an in-your-face defender (who's not on a San Miguel team), then Baracael is your guy.

Jeffrei Chan (Rain or Shine)
We all know what the Allan Caidic on Chin Chun Su a.k.a. KKS Trigger-Chan brings on offense. Give him a split second view of the hoop and he's bound to bury a three no matter how far he is from the line. But, what I really love about this unseen pick, is that Chan is an extremely under-rated defender who can more than hold his own against guards coming from Korea and Japan. It's high time that we had a legit sharpshooter on the floor, and Chan is just that. Coach Chot won't need him to move all over the floor- he has Castro, Alapag, Casio and Reyes for that-- he just needs Chan to get himself ready and open at all times.

What are your thoughts on the latest additions to the Gilas II? Did Coach Chot get the right guys?