Disrupting Gilas Pilipinas’ hard-earned and –fought chemistry would be the last thing we’d like to do. Hell, even dividing the online (hardcore) Pinoy basketball community is not something we wake up wanting to do either. But if there’s anything that the recently concluded PBA All Star Game showed, it’s that Gilas might be missing a superstar (or two) in its fold.
We don’t have to discuss the history and all the drama in detail, we know the back story more or less: “The Silent War,” “One player per team,” and “Injured or risk of injury.” Oh, and there’s also the “we’ve done our part before, so let’s see the rest do theirs” shtick.
Of the PBA All Stars that competed last Sunday night, Petron Blaze’s Arwind Santos stood out with his double-double effort of 27 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals in 40 minutes of action.
Proving that he’s the league’s barometer when it comes to two-way players, Santos was all over the floor and worked his ass off to give Gilas Pilipinas a worthy challenge. You could pretty much say that had the PBA All Stars won, Santos would and should be given outright inclusion (and freedom by his mother team of course) to suit up for Gilas this coming FIBA Asia, practice or no practice.
Santos did most of his damage within the arc, but in true Arwind Santos fashion, threw up eight treys (connecting on three), hauling down offensive rebounds like he was trying out for pretty much any spot available on the Gilas roster (with pool members Kelly Williams and Jared Dillinger sidelined due to injuries/ health concerns).
Other guys had impressive showings, but not enough to dislodge their Gilas counterparts. Santos’ Petron buddy Alex Cabagnot finished with a superb 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists—but his defense (and inconsistencies as of late) is always a concern. Nino Canaleta masked his horrendous shooting night with his 20 points, going 7/19 from the field. He could come in handy as a tall shooter, but he’s too streaky to really be counted on in one-and-done deals such as the FIBA Asia elimination rounds.
And finally, our guy, Beau Belga, put in 15 points but pulled down a measly 2 rebounds. We understand that Cabagnot and Santos were trying to steal the show out there and doing all sorts of crazy, eye-popping, stats-friendly magic, but as the only center on the PBA selection 2 rebounds just won’t cut it.
Will Santos ever get to wear National colors again?
arwind is at its best when there's no 'jwash' to think about.
ReplyDeleteThe current arwind is to inlove with his 3pt shooting, yes he has that range and we need bigs who can spread the floor for the national squad but he's very inconsistent on that department... Kung PF ( even if undersized) arwind is an ok replacement for Gilas but for the SF spot mas ok kung si lassiter o tubid na lang.
ReplyDeleteSantos should go back to the things that work for him and stop acting like a 3pt shooter
"Sige sasagutin ko na yung tanong ninyo (a reporter ask if he'll be addding new players to the pool). Madaling magdagdag ng players para maging 17, pero mahirap mag cut para maging 12. Gusto ninyo si Arwind or si KG. Pero sino ang i-cut natin? Si Larry? Si Sonny? Si Jeffrei? Si Gary? Si Ranidel? Madaling magdagdag, walang problema dun. Ang problema yung mag cut. kung mabibigyan ninyo ako ng paraan (kung paano mag cut), bakit hindi natin gawin?"
ReplyDeleteNot verbatim, but more or less that's what Coach Chot said after the Shanghai Sharks game.
*asked adding
DeleteSi JAPETH pare. Yun ang tatanggalin ko sa natitirang pool at isasaksak si Arwind.
DeleteDoubt that would happen. Japeth is Chot's homeboy.
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