Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[IPC2]

I'm wondering assuming Philips and Ballungay become eligible, as purely a FIBA 4 man (not center). Who is better for 2027 WC between these 3

A Malonzo
B Philipps
C Ballungay

Based on ability to play the 4, Malonzo and Ballungay. Mike Phillips is more of a 5 at this point, but he can switch onto guards and protect the rim.

Ballungay will learn how to play defense under Tab, that much we do know.

 

[JAMSKIE2]

I'm wondering assuming Philips and Ballungay become eligible, as purely a FIBA 4 man (not center). Who is better for 2027 WC between these 3

A Malonzo
B Philipps
C Ballungay

I'll pick Malonzo. Mas mature na yung laro ni Malonzo & he is already familiar with Gilas system.

 

[JAMSKIE2]

Best 2 guard?? Isn't CJ more of a combo guard?

With Gilas & lately with SMB, Perez is playing as a combo guard. But we all know that throughout his career he has been playing mostly as a 2-guard.

 

[IPC2]

With Gilas & lately with SMB, Perez is playing as a combo guard. But we all know that throughout his career he has been playing mostly as a 2-guard.

Well, you know, in the Philippines, when you have three or more star guards standing 6'2" and under, the third star guard will have to play the 3. Even if the third star perimeter player is 6'3" and under, he'll play the 3 and stick to that position, because that's the best lineup in the Philippine setting.

Even Tab's Ateneo and Tim Cone's Ginebra followed this, because it's what wins, e.

 

[JAMSKIE2]

@IPC

This is how I see it, I think during his college days at San Sebastian & LPU, even if for instance CJ Perez' college coaches notices some potential in him playing as a point guard, the coaches may prefer not to pursue such idea & would rather let Perez remain as shooting guard or even a small forward. Why? Becoz he was the best offensive player of that team. He's too good a scorer to play as a point guard. Asking Perez to be the focal point of offense while orchestrating the team's plays would be too much of a burden for him. Hence the coaches would rather have him play the 2-guard or even the small forward spot. The tendency of the coaches is, let someone handle the ball & orchestrate & let Perez do what he does best - score.

 

[DAdmiral2]

Question, why has Heading been good in FIBA but Wright (when younger ) not good

It's kind of sad for homegrown like Thirdy, CJ, Pogoy as the way they developed isn't geared for FIBA.. they haven't been privileged to be
exposed to fluid ball movement and less iso

 

[sroth38392]

Question, why has Heading been good in FIBA but Wright (when younger ) not good

Wright was never a sharp shooter to begin with.

I remember he took 20 attempts back in his U18 days but bricked ? of them.

 

[DAdmiral2]

It's kind of sad for homegrown like Thirdy, CJ, Pogoy as the way they developed isn't geared for FIBA.. they haven't been privileged to be
exposed to fluid ball movement and less iso
Pogoy and Thirdy have played at lot of PF in college

 

[DAdmiral2]

Wrights speed of release isn't as quick a Heading, which is an issue in FIBA when you have taller defenders

 

[IPC2]

It's kind of sad for homegrown like Thirdy, CJ, Pogoy as the way they developed isn't geared for FIBA.. they haven't been privileged to be
exposed to fluid ball movement and less iso
Pogoy and Thirdy have played at lot of PF in college

A lot of homegrown players at 3, 4, and 5 aren't really developed for the FIBA game, like Thirdy, Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Ian Sangalang, Justin Arana. Not just the ball movement, but playing for their FIBA position and the FIBA play style on either end.

If you want to develop FIBA players at 3, look at the likes of Gabe Norwood and Will Navarro, in height, length, quickness, and skillset. I excluded Dwight because I see him more as a 2, just has the length, motor, and strength to play the 3 and even the 4.

If you want to develop FIBA fours, look at RDO, Tamayo, and Mason for offense, and a Baltazar and Pingris for defense.

 

[IPC2]

The Asia-Oceania delegates for the World Cup are all set after the Iran-China and Australia-Kazakhstan games:

- Australia
- New Zealand
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Iran
- China
- Japan
- Philippines

kinda weird not seeing SKor in that list,oh wel maybe next world cup

For Real.

No way Jordan would have qualified if Korea was around.

To be honest the other teams aside from Iran are levelling up. They need to catch up

South Korea will come back with a vengeance. They know that they can make it. It was just that their federation did not want to play last year due to COVID restrictions.

and with SKor back in the picture next FIBA cycle, im worried about our chances in 2027, hope SBP and the other stakeholders focus on the long term devt after hosting this world cup. We have the pieces anyway we just need a good program

baekpd, a SoKor blogger and source like Heoball, is more confident in us that he is with their NT, though this projection is for next year, and for East Asia: https://twitter.com/baekpd1983/status/1629650953485025280?s=20

He also wants their federation to evolve: https://twitter.com/baekpd1983/status/1629657865047937026?s=20

I agree with CoJ, we have to focus on long-term development in preparation for the 2027 WC. That means identifying promising players in the youth levels, integrating the best U17-U19 ones into the senior team, phasing out the more useless/less useful ones and the old, washed up ones, and establishing a winning culture and system at the same time.

I hope we focus on defense in the long run. I want our team to have a solid defense, and be one of the best defensive teams in the FIBA Asia region at least. That means, having a great system that covers every area of the halfcourt, and recruiting and developing mobile, lengthy players ala Dwight, Navarro, Baltazar, Malonzo, Gabe, and Pingris, and then incorporating them into the system. Have the system implemented from youth level upwards too.

 

[IPC2]

Wright was never a sharp shooter to begin with.

I remember he took 20 attempts back in his U18 days but bricked ? of them.

Wright's a shot creator, not really a shooter.

 

[JAMSKIE2]

Wright was never a sharp shooter to begin with.

I remember he took 20 attempts back in his U18 days but bricked ? of them.

U better watch Matt Wright's games with the Gilas cadets in the 2017 Jones Cup & his games with Gilas senior team in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup to realize how deadly a 3-point shooter he was. Sadly, hindi na nasundan ang mga good games na yun when Wright played during the qualifying windows of the 2019 World Cup.

I myself couldn't understand Wright's struggle with Gilas to think that in the PBA, he is easily among the finest wingmen out there. On the other hand, si Heading na di naman masyado na hype is turning to be the much better shooter than Wright in the national team.

 

[sajubeads2]

@IPC

This is how I see it, I think during his college days at San Sebastian & LPU, even if for instance CJ Perez' college coaches notices some potential in him playing as a point guard, the coaches may prefer not to pursue such idea & would rather let Perez remain as shooting guard or even a small forward. Why? Becoz he was the best offensive player of that team. He's too good a scorer to play as a point guard. Asking Perez to be the focal point of offense while orchestrating the team's plays would be too much of a burden for him. Hence the coaches would rather have him play the 2-guard or even the small forward spot. The tendency of the coaches is, let someone handle the ball & orchestrate & let Perez do what he does best - score.

In fact it was the great Josh Reyes who experimented using Perez as PG lalst 2016 Challenge Cup....But all through out his career he played as Wing or SG....That's the reason why his mentality is score first/ slash first, pass later...

 

[sajubeads2]

what's impressive abt CJ is maturity & poise under pressure. stabilizes the team. unselfish. can give you buckets when needed. he looks flashy but actually plays the game the right way. not a headache in the locker room. no superstar antics. Scoring, defense and playmaking yes but rebounding gotta give it to Scottie.

Toss up between him and Scottie as best guards right now, although Scottie plays more like a Pinoy, rugged and all-around. He does things that are not shown on the stat sheet and he does not need to score to dominate the game.

Are we watching the same Perez coz it seems like the opposite of your description..Poise under pressure is questionable....How many times he bungled last second shots when he was still at Terrafirma and how SMB lost to Bay Area last semis because of his ill advised shot...I agree he can score and slash , maybe unselfish but his Modus operandi is score score and score more.
.In terms of defense and playmaking Scottie has the upper hand but Scottie is a blackhole on offense like a Norwood in previous Gilas iterations...

 

[carmelo72]

Are we watching the same Perez coz it seems like the opposite of your description..Poise under pressure is questionable....How many times he bungled last second shots when he was still at Terrafirma and how SMB lost to Bay Area last semis because of his ill advised shot...I agree he can score and slash , maybe unselfish but his Modus operandi is score score and score more.
.In terms of defense and playmaking Scottie has the upper hand but Scottie is a blackhole on offense like a Norwood in previous Gilas iterations...

Actually if we have JC on the team whose our primary scorer I would want Perez w/ the 2nd unit so we have someone that aggressive offensively coming off the bench. Guys like Perez (remember Romeo's role in 2015 w/ Tab?) with really high offensive awareness are necessary to keep the pressure on the opposing teams even when guys like JC,Ramos and Kai resting.

 

[thatweirdguy2]

Actually if we have JC on the team whose our primary scorer I would want Perez w/ the 2nd unit so we have someone that aggressive offensively coming off the bench. Guys like Perez (remember Romeo's role in 2015 w/ Tab?) with really high offensive awareness are necessary to keep the pressure on the opposing teams even when guys like JC,Ramos and Kai resting.

Heading or Thompson with JC then Perez off the bench with maybe Parks for me.

I dunno where Kiefer or Pogoy or Thirdy would fit in though

 

[carmelo72]

Heading or Thompson with JC then Perez off the bench with maybe Parks for me.

I dunno where Kiefer or Pogoy or Thirdy would fit in though

They dont fit anywhere if we're thinking world standards hehe
A rotation of Iskati,Perez,Heading,Ramos,Parks,Clarkson should be enough for our backcourt
while
Malonzo,Amos,Tamayo,Jap,Edu (If indeed healthy if not then JF) Kai frontline

 

[JAMSKIE2]

What would really piss me off is seeing ageing players like Junmar, Japeth, Poy Erram, Pogoy, Matt Wright, Chris Newsome in the Gilas pool for the post 2023 FIBA World Cup era. Its about time to retire those ageing players from national team service becoz those players are on the downhill route. Palaos na talaga yung mga yan. Its time we make the much younger players like Mason Amos, AJ Edu, Schonny Winston, Carl Tamayo, Rhenz Abando, & others be regular fixtures of the Gilas pool for the qualifying windows & tournament proper of FIBA tourneys like the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup & 2027 FIBA World Cup. The more we get rid of those ageing players for the Gilas pool, the better for Philippine basketball.

I think there are a number of players in the amateur backyard that should be considered in the Gilas pool if we are thinking about long term program. Guys like Seven Gagate, Luis Pablo, Chico Briones, Caleum Harris, Alex Konov, Abadam, Bayla, etc. I think it would be ideal that we elevate these players in the Gilas "cadet" pool anytime soon.

BTW, its nice that IBN is back to regular programing.

 

[IPC2]

What would really piss me off is seeing ageing players like Junmar, Japeth, Poy Erram, Pogoy, Matt Wright, Chris Newsome in the Gilas pool for the post 2023 FIBA World Cup era. Its about time to retire those ageing players from national team service becoz those players are on the downhill route. Palaos na talaga yung mga yan. Its time we make the much younger players like Mason Amos, AJ Edu, Schonny Winston, Carl Tamayo, Rhenz Abando, & others be regular fixtures of the Gilas pool for the qualifying windows & tournament proper of FIBA tourneys like the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup & 2027 FIBA World Cup. The more we get rid of those ageing players for the Gilas pool, the better for Philippine basketball.

I think there are a number of players in the amateur backyard that should be considered in the Gilas pool if we are thinking about long term program. Guys like Seven Gagate, Luis Pablo, Chico Briones, Caleum Harris, Alex Konov, Abadam, Bayla, etc. I think it would be ideal that we elevate these players in the Gilas "cadet" pool anytime soon.

BTW, its nice that IBN is back to regular programing.

We still might need Japeth for a window or two, since we lack a rim protector outside him and Ange and Kai. We have Luis Pablo, Gab Demisana, and maybe Seven Gagate as other potential defensive bigs. If they develop well, then Japeth might be made expendable.

The rest of the vets you mentioned though, yes, they're now expendable. Better use their spots on young talent. Not really big contributors (except for Newsome, who was an asset in the August window), and they're getting older.