SMART Gilas: Is the center position still a problem?

The HOPE of Pilipinas Basketbol

With all due respect to Marcus Douthit and his heroic efforts the last few years in basically carrying Pilipinas Basketbol on his lanky shoulders, let's touch on an interesting idea raised by our friend @akosimayco over at Twitter.

Should we get a player of a different position-- say a small forward, to be naturalized since (God willing) we are bound to have bigs like 7"0 Greg Slaughter, 6"10 June Mar Fajardo and even 6"8 Ian Sangalang in maybe two to three years time? Qatar and Jordan did it/ are doing it, South Korea also fielded in a wing at one point years back so why not the Philippines?

You could argue for the guys that we currently have and play the wing position in Gabe Norwood and Jarred Dillinger, but let it sit for awhile. We don't really need a do-it-all small forward, but probably a big time scorer such as the Anthony Johnsons, Champ Oguchis and so on who can score from just about anywhere on the floor (Gabe Freeman doesn't count since his jumper is streaky wretched at best). This way, we can play Dillinger at the 1, Norwood at 3, Ranidel de Ocampo or whichever power forward you want to throw in there for rebounding purposes and one of the three young studs previously mentioned in the paragraph above.

Of course, that would depend on Slaughter's development-- which has taken a hit this year because of Ateneo's "spread the wealth" approach. We haven't seen Slaughter dominate the UAAP with back to the basket moves and spins-- he scores mostly versus smaller guys by facing the basket and the usual putbacks and drop pass catches. He's also shown a tendency to be a little too flat-footed to guard pick and rolls so that's a concern.

Then you have June Mar Fajardo. From what we've seen and hear so far, the guy is a gamer. He doesn't have a go-to offensive move. But he is a willing rebounder and intimidator down low. Credit it to his tour with San Miguel in the ASEAN Basketball League. Despite playing behind imports and in limited minutes, he still got some burn and practiced with legit, skilled foreign big men so he knows what it takes to play the position effectively and be the tallest guy on the floor.

Sangalang is another promising talent, but he'll need to be put on the Extra Rice, Inc. diet before we really consider him as an option. Perhaps JayR Reyes could finally figure it out and quit playing the perimeter by then, who knows? He's the most fleet-footed of all the over 6"7 guys not named Japeth Aguilar playing in the Philippines so there's that.

Oh, yeah, there's Aguilar too. If he ever embraces a rebounding role for any team, then we'll consider him as a viable option.

Back to getting a wing instead of a center as an import. Of course, this all depends again on the development of our new "giants." The FIBA game isn't played inside (unless you have a Douthit or a Haddadi) as much as in the commercial leagues. Ball movement is key, and having a legit go-to-guy will always tilt the game in your favor much like it does with Lebanon and Fahdi El Khatib, Korea's Doug Kreighton (and TJ Moon before him) and Iran's super Samad Nikkhah Bahrami.

Personally, lost in all the wonders of the "dribble drive" offense is the silent admission of the one truth about this SMART Gilas 2.0. We battle, scratch, claw and hustle yes, but we are not a naturally talented DEFENSIVE team. When our offense broke down in the last two games of the FIBA Asia Cup tournament versus Iran and Qatar, there was just nothing we could do to salvage it. We couldn't make stops, we're just not that kind of team.

The dribble drive works in our favor because it increases possessions by forcing the action at all times. It almost promotes helter-skelter basketball which has always been our strongest suit in international competition. Problem was, once the defensive screws were tightened and our guards forced to take shots from the outside-- no one could make anything. No one dared to try and break the zone by finding cracks on the defense, and once the shots weren't falling, we were afraid to take even the open shots.

We're not saying that we should just go out there and get a scorer, sit back and relax. No. But imagine if you had an ultra athletic guy, say a 6"5-7 version of Mark Caguioa/ Gary David who can also play some decent defense and take/make shots? We would be running and gunning on all cylinders really.

But again, this would only work if Slaughter, Fajardo, Sangalang, Reyes, Sonny Thoss and the rest hold their own and improve.

For now, Marcus Douthit is just the right guy we need.