KKS Gilas 3.0 (Part 2)

Ang Dalubhasa RdO
(Photo courtesy of Paul Ryan Tan)

A lot of thought should go in the creation of your second unit-- specially if you have a free hand to choose from an entire pool of PBA, professional and amateur talent. But, the line-up shouldn't be made just because they are the best available talent after the 1st unit.

No, you need balance.

You need your 2nd unit to compliment the 1st: if your starting five loves to run, then you need to make a decision of you want your 2nd unit to be able to do the same to maintain the momentum, or if your 2nd unit will be of a different style to help keep opponents guessing (read: Tim Cone's current Purefood's 1st line-up which is offensively gifted, and the 2nd unit which plays stingy defense first and foremost).

With all things considered, and with Abueva and Sangalang as our 11th and 12th guys on the roster, here's the 2nd unit of the KKS Gilas 3.0:


PG Paul Lee
We all know what Lee can do on the FIBA level on offense, so that's not something we'll go into. If Lee could hold his own against a 6"8 Joe DeVance anywhere on the floor (even in the paint), then we honestly believe that he has no qualms guarding taller, stockier but not natural post-up playing Asian guards. This is crucial because the guy who we chose to pair him with, is arguably the best shooting guard in the PBA today (and maybe for the next 2-3 years even, the way he's going)...

SG Terrence Romeo
... Romeo is the guy we want to play with Lee in an Allen Iverson-Aaron McKie set-up akin to the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers though Lee is more offensively gifted than a McKie (don't take that literally of course, just for the comparison). Really, just imagine how good and explosive Romeo is one-on-one, being the focal point of an otherwise stale 2nd unit much like how Gilas 2.0 was. We had Gary David, Jeffrei Chan and Larry Fonacier in the fold-- but how good where they other than being reduced to catch and shoot guys in a dribble drive offense? When their shots weren't going in, they were basically useless. Romeo? If he can't shoot a three, you just know he'll attack the basket relentlessly until he gets his. It will take a lot of coaching to ensure that he doesn't stray off course, but he's simply the best out there TODAY. James Yap, PJ Simon, they're all good, but how old will they be by then? Yap's dribble game is weak. Simon's old. Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter have been stuck in so-so land ever since they donned San Miguel jerseys. Our vote is for Romeo.

SF Matthew Ganuelas Rosser
Another young blood, another puzzle piece for Gilas 4 or 5 moving forward. Some would argue for Ray Ray Parks, Jr. But how he played against physical defenders (Kevin Ferrer, NU vs UST) was a clear showing that he may not be mentally ready though his skills are other worldly. Rosser? He is continuously making quite an easy transition from the amateurs to the PBA and is now the most indispensable Talk'n'Text player out there. He can run an offense, he can play the weak side, and most of all-- he can D up and is an under-rated shot-block artist.

PF Ranidel de Ocampo
The Best Damn Power Forward will still be the BEST DAMN POWER FORWARD until he hands over his title to a healthy Sangalang or if and when Sonny Thoss makes the transition to play that position (or if Arnold Van Opstal suddenly learns to shoot jumpers and threes to add to his growing repertoire). Ang Dalubhasa. He will be the steadying force in this young 2nd unit, and we can see him being the only guy with the right credentials to keep Romeo at bay (being a fellow Caviteno and all).

C Greg Slaughter
Slaughter has all the tools to play FIBA basketball, but there's just a question of him being 1) slow and 2) soft. Two things that are basically taboo when it comes to big men specially for a country robbed of such. We want our giants to be strong, intimidating protectors-- be it in basketball or life. This is the heavy burden that Slaughter needs to embrace. What good will he be out there if he can't set a hard screen for his guards because he himself is afraid of contact? If his guys, say an Abueva, is battling monsters in the paint for rebounds and loose balls and you see Slaughter just lazily raising his arms up and not even boxing guys out? He needs a lot of training still, and being in the 2nd unit for Gilas 3.0 will definitely help him down that path.

Lee, Romeo, Rosser, De Ocampo, Slaughter, Abueva and Sangalang. 7 players. Watch out for our next and final installment, wherein we name our KKS Gilas 3.0 STARTERS. Let us know what you think on @kilikilishot on Twitter!