SMART Gilas' FIBA Asia bid: There can be only 12

90s television catchphrases aside, the reality for the SMART Gilas players is that only 12 can be taken to the FIBA Asia London olympic qualifiers this September 15. And as if trying to crack into the upper echelon of Asian basketball powerhouses isn't pressuring enough, the players on the bottom half of the rotation are fighting for their spot on the roster.

The addition of PBA veterans Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams and Ranidel de Ocampo have already led to the ouster of abled bodies like Jason Ballesteros and Dondon Hontiveros (who asked to be released). Right now, SMART Gilas still has 13 players on the line-up with rumors of versatile yet little used forward Dylan Ababou being the odd man out.

But to make things a wee bit interesting, here's an argument for the top three players who should be considered at the very least of being cut:

Dylan Ababou
We all know (or knew) what Ababou can do on the floor. On his best day, Ababou's the closest we've seen to the late 90s' Victor Pablo. A big man who can play both ends of the court with great basketball IQ. I've seen Ababou shoot from the outside, dribble, run, rebound, play tough defense and even post-up smaller defenders from time to time. On his worst/average; Ababou is a tattoo-less version of Adamson's/ Powerade's Mark Agustin. There's a lot to be said when a former UAAP Most Valuable Player loses his position at PF to a guy relatively smaller than he is in Mac Baracael, and at SF to a guy shorter and not as smart in Marcio Lassiter. The addition of natural PFs Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams only makes it worse for Ababou since everyone will go back to their natural positions (Baracael at SF, Lassiter "hopefully" at SG).

Mark Barroca
Is he hurt? Has the added weight affected his speed? How Barroca has fallen from elite, starting PG to a blitzkrieg back-up is beyond me. Yes, Casio made huge strides as a PG, but the guy has only played the position in the last two years. Barroca on the other hand, has been a PG since college (probably even earlier)-- one of the best at that. So how does he manage to lose his starting spot? Now that Alapag's on board, the pressure is on Barroca to deliver whenever called upon else he loses his spot even further in favor of the veteran PBA MVP.

Chris Tiu

I'm just messing with Tiu-fanatics. The guy plays with a lot of heart and is arguably the team's scrappiest player outside of Marcio Lassiter. I caught a replay of that mini-scuffle with Japan the other night and was impressed that the team's poster boy was willing to fight tooth and nail out there with the rest of the guys. Skills-wise, Lassiter should be the starting SG with Lutz as his back-up. But since Tiu has a lock on that position, everyone's been playing outside of their comfort zones.

As of this writing, here are the guys on the 13-man line-up:

PG Jayvee Casio/ Andy Barroca/ Jimmy Alapag
SG Chris Tiu/ Chris Lutz
SF Marcio Lassiter/ Mac Baracael/ Dylan Ababou
PF Ranidel de Ocampo/ Kelly Williams
C Marcus Douthit/ Asi Taulava

Who do you think should be cut from the team?