FIBA Asia Cup: Thoughts on Gilas 3-0 start

PUSO

Three to nil.

Those are three wins over China, Iraq and Qatar in what was deemed by FIBA as the "group of death." Fortunately for us; China missed a few key players (though we were also without 3x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo AND naturalized reinforcement Andray Blatche), Iraq's still developing its young basketball program while Qatar is rebuilding.

We are not trying to take anything away from our Gilas team, because they fought tooth and nail for each one of those three victories. We are just saying that for the time being, it appears that the stars are aligning to our favor after years of heartbreak and close shaves.


First, let us all thank Chot Reyes for coming back and spearheading this program. He could've walked away and kept to his corporate role. He could've said "no thanks" after all the (unwarranted) backlash the last time he coached Gilas.



But here he is, coaching a team that lost Blatche to whatever reason/s, had to make do without Fajardo AND all the crap pulled by greedy parties who put their own brand/s above flag and country.

The guys on the roster, let's break down their performances one by one:

PG
Jayson Castro
We have yet to see the old "best point guard in Asia" version of Castro, but he has done enough to keep the team afloat while letting Romeo and Wright take care of the perimeter offense. Castro's taken a more "Jimmy Alapag" role in terms of just making sure that their offense is set: moving and taking care of the ball. We hope to see the "old" Castro back in the quarterfinals,  since we'll need all the help we can get as the competition gets better.


Terrence Romeo
There is no question in our heart's that though people still question Romeo's shot selection and team-oriented play, he is Gilas' top assassin when it comes to making plays and scoring much-needed baskets. Romeo's maturity has improved quite a lot, no longer forcing plays or going on dribbling forays-- he still has his moments, but for the most part he's been A+ for Gilas.

Jio Jalalon
Just a burst of energy off the bench, doing all the things that he does in the NCAA and PBA-- scoring, running, rebounding, picking pockets... this tournament is going to do Jalalon more good than harm and despite his lack of height it's quite obvious that he can hold his own against FIBA competition.

SG
Matthew Wright
This guy is the real deal, and I've already forgotten all about "what if Marcio Lassiter played for Gilas (again)?" Seriously. Lassiter will have to earn his spot versus Wright, who is able to run, score and play sound defense for a team that had to make do with "old" or "one dimensional" shooters in previous incarnations.

Calvin Abueva
Unlucky. Un-focused. Hopefully Abueva wises up in the quarters, he'll be needed versus Korea/Japan and the physical teams waiting in the later rounds.

SF
Gabe Norwood
Captain. Defense. Spot up corner threes. FIBA Gabe. All day. All day. We admire Norwood from taking the mantle of Gilas' leader post-Jimmy Alapag. You can see just how selfless he is on the floor, which is really just a reflection of him as a person. For all the "we can't win without Blatche" talk, we'd go as far as saying that this Gilas team would've had trouble going 3-0 had Norwood been absent.

Roger Pogoy
We take this time to formally recognize Pogoy as Jojo Lastimosa's son.

PF
Christian Standhardinger
Marc Pingris Jr., only bigger, with a pet off the box shot, longer hair and funky gait. He'll be pulling double duty with Gilas, since he's also part of the SEA Games roster which will play in Malaysia. We won't be surprised

Carl Bryan Cruz
While Cruz doesn't have Ranidel de Ocampo's post-up savvy, he pretty much has a similar stretch four skillset (and ruggedness) which has been a pleasant surprise for Gilas thus far. To be quite honest, we were questioning his inclusion pre-FIBA tournament since Troy Rosario (who stands 3-4 inches taller) was available but Cruz was quick to silence his doubters with his steady play.

C
Japeth Aguilar
We have been called Aguilar-haters for years, which we have warmly received and agreed with. We hate on him, because we see the potential. But we are pretty sure that you can only use the word "potential" for so long which was how we saw Aguilar in his PBA/FIBA career. Thankfully, Coach Tim Cone helped changed that over at Ginebra, which benefited Gilas tremendously. The timing, the defense, the well-placed blocks and positioning-- every single ounce of improvement should be accredited both to Aguilar AND Cone. We're no longer seeing Aguilar trying to do too much on the court, now, he realizes that he's arguably one of the most athletic bigs in the tournament.

Raymond Almazan
Knocks down open threes, plays solid interior defense, moves his feet to jam the pick and roll play AND finishes strong at the rim. Former Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin wasn't lying when he said that Almazan was crazy good, and that he's perfect for what Gilas is running.

Junemar Fajardo
Hu u po? All jokes aside, we're giving Fajardo the benefit of the doubt here. He's played for Gilas before, he's willingly suited up for them even if he was sparingly used time and again. Now that Blatche is out of the picture, it's just unfortunate that he was sidelined with a calf strain.

All in all, this team has been very impressive and Blatche's absence has been a blessing since they no longer go on extended "iso-Blatche" forays. Can they win it all? Well, there's a good chance that Gilas advances all the way into the medal rounds. Hopefully, they don't run into the Oceania teams (which are bigger and have legit NBA/NBADL talent) early.