Laban Pilipinas!

Laban!

And then there were 12.

Before we proceed, we would kindly like to take this modicum of space to show love to Kelly Williams, Moala Tautuaa, Greg Slaughter, Marcio Lassiter, Paul Lee, L.A. Tenorio and Calvin Abueva. They did not make the final cut for different reasons, but we all know that these men would shed blood, sweat and tears to represent flag and country under different circumstances.

To them, our whole-hearted respect, appreciation and love.

We would also like to show love to our Gilas Cadets, the ones who voluntarily showed up at the PBA big boys’ practices—Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Ferrer, Mike Tolomia, R.R. Pogoy and Mac Belo. They didn’t have to, but they did. They will have their turn (should rumors prove to be correct) sooner rather than later.

So here we are, just a week away from the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers to be held right in our very own backyard. Gilas coach Tab Baldwin has named his Final 12, and there is no point in wondering or fantasizing about who is and isn’t there, how and why.

The Gilas OQT 12 has been named, and it is our duty to support them without waver.



Jayson Castro (PG)
Has Castro matured enough to the point wherein he can be fully entrusted with making on-court decisions and not be pulled aside by his coach/ someone else be sent in to play PG during crunch time? If we are using France’s Tony Parker as the yardstick for PGs in this tournament, then Castro is our best to counter. Hopefully, our team does a better job this time around in spacing the floor for our Dribble Drive initiator.

Terrence Romeo (PG)
With Lee out of the roster, there was simply no way Coach Tab/ Gilas could afford to not bring Romeo into the fold. An excellent creator with a knack for getting streaky from the outside, Romeo’s quickness AND shiftiness will be huge versus the (traditionally-speaking) more rigid/ stiff Euro guards.

Jeffrei Chan (SG)
There is always room for any basketball team for a shooter. If he can dribble, run and defend some, then that is a bonus but at day’s end shooting is what he is going to be there for. Since Lassiter opted out, and Larry Fonacier has somehow lost favor within the Gilas ranks (seriously, not even some tryout/ pool love for Larry?), then Chan is the next best thing when it comes to a zone breaking specialist.

Ryan Reyes (SG)
Finally. Powerade Pilipinas. Gilas 1, 2 and 3. Reyes’ name has always been on everyone’s fantasy national team pool if only he hadn’t been plagued by so many leg injuries throughout his PBA career. How good is Reyes? When healthy, and we are saying this as Santa Lucia fans, Reyes is arguably the best defensive combo guard in the PBA. He has the wide-body, but also the speed to keep in step with anyone. He rebounds like a power forward. He has that annoyingly good corner three ball down pat. We would have made room for Abueva if we were in Coach Tab’s shoes, but never for Reyes’ spot.

Ray Parks (SF)
Just how good is Ray Ray Parks? Two-time UAAP MVP. NBA D-League starter/ contributor credentials. The name on the back of the jersey is enough to tell you about his championship bloodline. But is he ready? Is Parks ready to help lead Gilas Pilipinas on its continued journey to Asian basketball respectability and supremacy? Guess we will all know soon enough.

Gabe Norwood (SF)
Longing, rusted, furnace, daybreak, seventeen, benign, nine, homecoming, one, freight car. FIBA Gabe, ready to comply.

Ranidel de Ocampo (PF)
The most Euro-like player in all of Philippine basketball today gets a crack at, well, actual Euro-players. And to think that Gilas almost lost the Bearded One we dubbed Ang Dalubhasa (Sports 5, Carlo et. al. get on this already!) to a freak injury early this year.

Troy Rosario (PF)
The Future is now. Rosario is young, but every time he is on the floor be it in the PBA for Talk’n’Text or with Gilas, this kid just embodies efficiency. He is fearless in the paint when it comes to locking horns for rebounds, sets solid screens for his guards AND can knock down the occasional three ball.

Andray Blatche (PF)
The good news: he is in much better shape than when he played in China. The bad news: that belly is still sticking out of his jersey worse than Beau Belga’s. At least with Belga, the man is basically large—spread out. With Blatche, as Kevin Nash and Triple H once said about CM Punk, he is “skinny fat.” Hopefully, his conditioning is up there and he will be able to carry the load for us versus the bigger competition. We are not so sure if he has any advantage going in against Euro bigs who are accustomed to playing against guys as big as Blatche with a penchant for playing like a guard.

Marc Pingris (PF)
We will never question Pingris’ heart. But we will not be surprised if he finds himself on the bench this time around owing to his height.

Japeth Aguilar( C)
The window is slowly closing for Aguilar as young guys roughly his size such as Rosario (and Raymond Almazan) are starting to come out of the wood work. He is still the same player we saw when he debuted with Powerade Pilipinas—maybe with a better three ball and a bigger/ stronger upper body. But yeah, we need Aguilar to stay focused and just do what is asked of him for us to stand a real chance.

June Mar Fajardo (C)
Honestly, we are not sure why Coach Tab hasn’t really called Fajardo’s number as much as, well, basically everyone expects. This is our 2x PBA MVP here. Not even in his prime. And Coach Tab and Gilas uses him so sparingly, that we are left to wonder if perhaps Almazan would’ve been a much better fit. We hope to see Fajardo and Blatche playing together, longer and not subbing for one another. Para kang may David Robinson at Tim Duncan, pero imbis na pagsabayin mo pinagsasalitan mo sila.

Still, this is our team. Win or lose. Don’t hate. No hate. Only, appreciate.

LABAN PILIPINAS!