So the 34th William Jones Cup championship is in the bag and we've found ourselves back to a position of basketball respectability this side of the world. Should we rest on our laurels and send the same successful unit to the FIBA-Asia tournament this September 14? They are after all, the gold medal -winning bunch that did it via heart and desire.
Yes and no.
This writer argues that we should keep the core players: L.A. Tenorio, Jeffrei Chan, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marcus Douthit, Sol Mercado and Larry Fonacier (yes, Pareng Larry makes the cut as the smartest PBA player today). After those guys, we should consider looking for an upgrade. Not that they're not any good (Gary David is still The Man), but we need a deeper rotation that can be relied upon (Pilipinas has been suffering from long, mid-game lulls which we cannot afford to have against better competition). So here's a short list of the guys who should be considered for the coming FIBA tournament (if they're healthy and in game shape of course).
