2014 FIBA World On Our Minds

Should Gilas Pilipinas send all 12 to Spain?
(Photo courtesy of PBA InterAKTV)

We know, we know.

It's too early to be posting about Gilas Pilipinas, its 2014 FIBA World campaign, and wether we should change the line-up or not. We also understand that the 12 players who gutted it out through this year's FIBA Asia en route to a silver medal finish are more than deserving to be sent to Spain. That any or all talks about any player from Asia's finest Jayson Castro to little-used big man Junmar Fajardo are to be on the positive slant given their now "revered" status.

But don't bet on foreigners to egg Gary David through another one of his now infamous shooting slumps. Or that Gilas can afford and withstand another mid-game scoring drought against NBA to EuroBasket-level competition.

Gilas Pilipinas needs tweaking. But not as much as some would think. They don't need an overhaul of talent, they just need some upgrades here and there when it comes to personnel. Here's a shortlist of players we feel can help the Gilas cause at the Worlds and who we're "okay" with taking out of the current line-up:


POINT GUARD

In: Ryan Reyes/ Paul Lee
Reyes is the perfect player for Gilas' Dribble Drive Motion offense in more ways than one. He can slash, he can shoot from the corners and he can make plays. His size and hustle also gives us an added defender when it comes to guarding bigger point guards. Drawback of course is his always being on the injured list. If Reyes is unavailable, then Lee is the next big point Gilas can go with. Strong, heady and savvy. Lee can play both guard positions with relative ease and is pretty much a smarter, slower Jayson Castro.

Out: L.A. Tenorio
Love Tenorio. He is the best point guard today. He is also under 5"10. We already have Jimmy Alapag as our token "little guy" who outplayed his heir apparent in the FIBA Asia.

SHOOTING GUARD
In: Chris Lutz/ Marcio Lassiter
Gilas needs to have a mid-range game. In the FIBA Asia tournament, it was either three pointers or layups for Gilas and close to nothing in between. Lutz and Lassiter have played on this stage before, they know what it takes and have the skill set for it. Both guys play better off the ball than the resident Gilas shooters and, save for maybe Larry Fonacier, are an upgrade on the defensive end as well. Honestly, we'll take whichever  is FIBA eligible.

Out: Gary David, Jeff Chan or Larry Fonacier

POWER FORWARD/ CENTER
In: Beau Belga/ Sonny Thoss
As much as we believe in Junmar Fajardo being the future of Philippine basketball, now is not the time for him to tag along and "learn" on the bench. We need guys one through twelve all ready to play and contribute in any way possible. Fajardo will have his time, he can play in all the Asian tournaments, but not next year in Spain. What? To get dunked on and pushed around in the three minutes of burn he'll most likely play in? He can get all that in the PBA. We need an enforcer more than we need size. We think we're fast, wait until we play teams like Brazil (Leandro Barbosa), Puerto Rico (JJ Barrea) and USA (pick any young NBA point guard). The bigs we have right now will get called for tacky fouls, no doubt about that. Might as well send a message.

Out: Junmar Fajardo
He'll have his day.

SPECIAL MENTION
Arwind Santos
Because when it comes to raw skill set, and when his mind is right and he's not too busy jacking up threes, this guy is still the best player on both ends of the court.

Who do you feel should be on the Gilas bubble? Should we even change the FIBA Asia roster?