When stardom beckons

It's time to move up for Alas

When news broke out that the Gilas Cadets are finally moving on to the next chapter of their young basketball careers by applying for the 2014 PBA Draft, it was met with a lot of approval and cheers from the Filipino basketball community.

After all, we're talking about guys who've spent a good portion of their collegiate and post-collegiate careers playing for flag and country instead of turning pro outright and securing themselves financially. The risks, the sacrifices, as shown and proven by the unfortunate injury to Team USA hopeful and NBA star Paul George are real. Yet they chose to suit up, playing in different Asian tournaments (and more) at a bargain price if only to proudly wear PILIPINAS on their chests.

Kevin Alas, Ronald Pascual, Matthew Ganuelas Rosser and Jake Pascual have all decided to join the coming 2014 PBA Draft, while their brother Garvo Lanete has opted to stay put with the Gilas Cadet program for maybe another year to further hone his craft.


Of the four, Alas is the sure fire star-in-waiting with his exceptional offensive repertoire, matinee idol good looks and that nice, PBA D-League Most Valuable Player trophy already on his resume. He'd be a perfect fit for teams looking for a scorer or spark off the bench with his biggest asset being-- he's a team player. If he weren't before, he became one under the Gilas program where he made the leap from shooting to point guard.

Rosser is another name that should go high on every one's radar-- the versatile 6"5 small forward covers a lot of ground with his uncanny reach and athleticism, while also being quite the effective slasher. While many would compare him to a young Gabe Norwood because of the aesthetics,  Rosser is arguably a more polished offensive player (while Norwood, the defender). There will be some adjusting for Rosser since he'll have to earn his touches in the pros, but he should be all right on the open court pushing the tempo or finishing off fast break plays.

Then there's the solid duo of non-related Ron and Jake Pascual. Ron Pascual has come a long way from being a high leaping scorer from Pampanga, transforming his game into that of a shooter the same way Gary David did after an injury.  A third of the hailed San Sebastian "Pinatubo Trio" alongside now resident PBA stars Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang, Ron Pascual is a big time scorer gifted with PBA size to play both shooting guard and small forward spots. Despite the game slowly being dominated by giants Junemar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter, there's still plenty of room for small ball in the PBA and adding a guy like Pascual to any roster gives them firepower off the bench right away while not sacrificing much on the defensive end.

Of the Gilas Cadets, Pascual is the only traditional big man and that's saying a lot. He has managed to keep in step with his teammates and has accepted his role despite the fact that Gilas has and will always go more to its guards rather than bigs (unless you happen to be a former NBA prospect of course). Pascual is not a dominant centre by any means, but he is highly skilled. He'll be challenged in the pros by taller opponents, but he has earned his chops by playing with and against foreigners in the import-laden NCAA.

That being said, these four gentlemen will surely be considered in the first round of the 2014 PBA Draft by all of the PBA teams if not for their natural talent and skill, then for their international experience and maturity on court. They all have Gilas pedigree, which is something you don't get every day. They've trained with the best and played against the world.

Will they be the next Chris Lutz, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Tiu and JVee Casio? We think so.