The Future

The kids are all right (photo: Spin.ph)

Just earlier this evening, the Ateneo-led, all-amateur Gilas Pilipinas Men's Basketball Team is flying out to Belgrade, Serbia to compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers. The team will be facing off against the hometown heroes and later on against the Domincan Republic. To say that this will be a tall order, would probably fit the bill both figuratively and literally.

So what are the expectations so far? 

Well, it would be nice if our boys could salvage a win, or at the very least, keep in step with these teams that are bringing in legitimate NBA players (Serbia has three to four if I remember correctly, including the titan-sized Boban Marjanovic).

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this team in the recent Clark Bubble. Sure, Tab Baldwin's back as the full time head coach, but they were missing some U.P. firepower by the names of Kobe Paras and Juan Gomez De Liano. To make up for this, they brought in more guys from Ateneo, while adding in representatives from DLSU and FEU. You'll have to forgive us for not being all too familiar with these kids outside of those who've already played a year in college. 

'Casual' is what the so called 'all-knowing experts' would call us.

 I'm not going to go through the roster, just the names that really impressed me in Gilas' 3-0 stint.

Kai Sotto, now at a wiry 7"3, really impressed with his high basketball IQ, aggressive approach and dexterity around the rim. Sure, he still looks a bit weak versus his counterparts (mostly stronger, beefier naturalized centers), but whatever he gives up in strength he makes up for on offense by simply shooting over the smaller competition.

Dwight Ramos is the current darling of the crowd, with his K-Pop boyband good looks to go with a well-rounded skillset that makes him look like a grown ass man playing against boys. This guy's a cool customer on the floor, makes correct plays, can knock down shots, and hardly does anything outside of his comfort zone. I tweeted that Ramos' approach and aura on the court reminds me of DLSU legend Mike 'Cool Cat' Cortez, hopefully, the experts agrees on that hot take.

Then there's the naturalized center Angeloa Kouame. He's big, strong, and knows Baldwin's offensive and defensive schemes. He hardly plays in the paint, usually setting screens or trying to pull his defender outside so his 'little brothers' can attack the paint a bit more. While more established reinforcements would probably do us better in the long run, Kouame is the guy we have right now and I have no complaints in terms of his performance and effort on the floor. He's basically a younger, less skilled version of Marcus Douthit's last run with the old Gilas team.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing this team together for more games. Even post-OQT, I hope that the SBP is able to build this version into the original SMART Gilas I program; they have the size for it, and should Kai continue to add more to his game, he'll most likely be better than Japeth Aguilar (and maybe, daresay, 5x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo!) in the next 2-3 years!

Well, one could only dream, right? What are your thoughts on this young Gilas squad?

Hit me up on Twitter @kilikilishot