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| Asia's Best (Photo credit: gmanetwork.com) |
Making the final cut for Head Coach Tab Baldwin are: Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, Troy Rosario, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, June Mar Fajardo, Marc Pingris, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Ray Parks, Terrence Romeo, Ryan Reyes, and Andray Blatche.
Some of the names that did not make it include: Marcio Lassiter, Paul Lee, Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena, Mike Tolomia, Kevin Ferrer and Mac Belo (read: we will go back to these gentlemen in a later entry).
From the outside looking in, we love the versatility of this line-up. We can play fast or slow, half-court or on the break on offense while having enough interchangeable guys to defend the opposition. Sure, we only brought one outside specialist in Jeffrei Chan, but if you have been paying close attention to Coach Tab’s style of coaching, he’d rather have guys who can do a bit of everything rather than specialists/ a one trick pony.
Point guard: Castro, Romeo, Tenorio
- Castro will definitely start and set the tone for Gilas, as he has done in the past. Romeo comes in to provide offense for the 2nd unit and in those crazy dull stretches wherein both teams are in scoring funks. We love that Tenorio was included if only because he is a proven floor leader who could take command of the team on the court should Castro and Romeo be suffering from off nights.
Shooting guard: Chan, Reyes
- We wouldn’t be surprised if Abueva slides down to the 2 spot or Romeo goes up from 1 in this position. For now, Reyes is the incumbent starter as he is the perfect corner kick-out option for Castro who he has played with for years now in the PBA. The wide-bodied guard may not be as explosive as Romeo, but he offers a lot of defense and rebounding to go with that corner three ball. Chan is Chan, some days he’ll shoot it like a Chinito Allan Caidic, others he’ll just go through the motions and give up fouls.
Small forward: Norwood, Abueva, Parks
- FIBA Gabe. The Beast. And if Parks plays up to his potential, we are good. Norwood has proven time and again that he is a different player when he wears the Pilipinas jersey, somehow becoming more aggressive on offense and just locked in on defense. Abueva has adapted to the FIBA game quite nicely as well, as a slasher-disruptor type who strays from the norm. Excited to see how Parks has matured thanks to his NBA D-League training and experience.
Power forward: Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Troy Rosario
- Though it is quite funny/ sad how short our veteran power forwards are compared to the competition, there is hope in young Rosario who stands 6”7 and is being “mentored” by arguably two of this basketball era’s best. De Ocampo gives us that Euro-forward option who can score both inside and out while also serving as the resident enforcer while Pingris’ energy and tenacity goes up quite a few more notches (if that is even possible) when wearing national colors.
Center: Andray Blatche, Junemar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar
- Blatche is a shooting guard/ small forward masquerading as a center. But we will take it, because he is that skilled for a man of his height and heft. At some point, we wish that Blatche could play alongside Fajardo, who has yet to really feel comfortable in a Gilas jersey. We have our reservations with Aguilar, so we are just hoping and praying for the best.
Do you think that the Gilas 14 will secure an Olympic berth this July? Who is your starting five? Best five?
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