Gilas OQT preps are in full swing

Who's joining Blatche?
(Photo credit: FIBA.com)

The month of May is almost coming to an end, which leaves Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin less than 50 days to trim down his 24-man pool to about 13-14 players.

From the PBA we have: Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes, Mo Tautuaa, Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario, L. A. Tenorio, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Marcio Lassiter, June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, and Marc Pingris.

From the amateur ranks we have Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Ferrer, Mac Belo, R. R. Pogoy, Russell Escoto and, fresh from his stint in the NBA D-League, Bobby Parks, Jr.

Slaughter and Rosser have already formally begged off from Gilas OQT duty owing to injuries, Tautuaa is no longer needed as Blatche is on his way back to serve as our naturalized reinforcement, while most of the amateurs have been sent to secure the SEABA gold medal: Ferrer, Belo, Pogoy and Escoto with PBA rookie Troy Rosario in tow.

Oh, hey, look! We were able to trim down the roster to 15 (16 if you count Blatche who is a lock):


PG
Jayson Castro
Paul Lee
L. A. Tenorio
Ryan Reyes

SG
Marcio Lassiter
Jeff Chan
Terrence Romeo
Kiefer Ravena

SF
Bobby Parks, Jr.
Gabe Norwood
Calvin Abueva

PF
Ranidel de Ocampo
Japeth Aguilar
Marc Pingris

C
June Mar Fajardo
Andray Blatche


So if we are only allowed 12 players, with a reserve, who do you think should be cut?

We are going with Reyes, Ravena, Chan and Tenorio.

Reyes is our guy, being Santa Lucia fans pre-RoS, but he is oft-injured and whatever he brings to the table (size, corner 3 ball, defense) could be split among the likes of Abueva, Norwood and even Lee.

Ravena is another guy that we'll have to take out, if only because there's just too much proven PBA talent at both guard positions. Why he did not opt to join the cadets is a bit intriguing, and the only real logic to it is perhaps a sure Gilas OQT roster spot. Right?

Chan is our guy, again. He is RoS. So he's family. But Lassiter has been shooting light's out lately, and as much as we love Chan he has always been a liability on defense.

Tenorio. This is a tough one. He's been balling as of late, but he also still gives up plenty of size. His best traits: ability to make the right plays and knock down clutch shots... we can get that from Lee. The guy that he could've unseated, Romeo, we need for when our offense stalls (which is just natural for any team).

That being said, here's our trimmed down line-up then:

PG
Jayson Castro - DDO option # 1a
Paul Lee - DDO option #1b/ playmaker

SG
Marcio Lassiter - shooter
Terrence Romeo - creator/ shooter

SF
Bobby Parks, Jr. - ???
Gabe Norwood - defense/ FIBA Gabe offense
Calvin Abueva - energy guy/ defense

PF
Ranidel de Ocampo - high/low post guy
Japeth Aguilar - high post guy
Marc Pingris - defense, rebounds

C
June Mar Fajardo - low post guy/ rebounds
Andray Blatche - high post guy/ scorer

What are your thoughts on our final Gilas OQT line-up? Who should we have kept? Released?