Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[JAMSKIE2]

Quinito says that participation is a possibility, but it's dependent on whether the FIBA Asia Cup will be postponed: https://www.philstar.com/sports/2021/07/17/2113077/gilas-heading-jordan/amp/

I say even if the Asia Cup is postponed, Gilas should still play for this pocket tournament in Jordan. Gilas needs every tune-up or actual tournament game it could get. The pocket tournament is a perfect stint for Gilas. Nandyan na rin lamang yan eh, we just have to make the most out of it.

 

[IPC2]

After watching 10/12 PBA teams played this season, I appreciate our Gilas team more last FIBA 5x5 tournaments under Tab. Pandemic limitations were already given. But I would always want to see how our boys will fare against SMB, Ginebra and TNT.

For those teams, I think they'll face a problem only at the forward positions. The guards, well, lamang ang teams na 'yun.

 

[IPC2]

Guys quick question, what if Heading or Navarro joined the B. League, is there any repurcussions? Tecnically they dont have any contracts sa PBA only but they signed with Gilas. Perfect examples is Tungcab, supposed to play in the D2 b league but failed to comply with the paper works.

The question is will they be available for Gilas. Remember Thirdy wasn't able to play for Gilas even though his last game was mid April in B League

With Thirdy back, that question might be settled.

As I was saying, their availability issues might come in windows, but not for the main tournament, which is the real concern with the PBA.

 

[zairex2]

With Thirdy back, that question might be settled.

As I was saying, their availability issues might come in windows, but not for the main tournament, which is the real concern with the PBA.

If they are not available in qualifiers then we might have no main tournaments to participate with. I hope that playing abroad will make them available but also how about long prep time. We will lost that to like how PBA games limited the prep time for qualifiers.

 

[IPC2]

If they are not available in qualifiers then we might have no main tournaments to participate with. I hope that playing abroad will make them available but also how about long prep time. We will lost that to like how PBA games limited the prep time for qualifiers.

Good point about the qualifiers and main tournaments, especially given that not every tournament we're automatically qualified. And, yeah I do hope playing abroad will give the overseas players sufficient prep time.

Best available aren't always the ones we need, and may not have been used to the system. Good thing we're automatically qualified for the WC, so we can experiment with newcomers and get them used to the system as much as possible.

This is kind of a challenge. How do we develop players while at the same time ensure their availability? We're in a terrible spot regarding Gilas players, honestly.

 

[IPC2]

If Gilas joins the league as guests, expect that atleast half of the teams will get beaten black and blue by this Gilas squad. Even without Kai, players like Kouame, Chiu, Cariño, Baltazar, Go, Tamayo, Navarro, Dwight will be EITHER too big, too skilled, OR too mobile against Terrafirma, Blackwater, Northport, Phoenix, NLEX, and ROS. Even Alaska and Meralco will have a hard time against Gilas. Not to mention, Gilas has Tab.

The only way these teams can win against Gilas is to play dirty.

I want some challenge.. maybe much better they will play with an import conference.. I want likes of baltazar, navarro to defend super imports likes of brownlee, McDaniels.. they were exposed against Dominican Republic.. gilas might be big favorites if they play in a all pinoy conference.. much better pba teams have imports to have a sweat with gilas...

PBA will do what DR did to Gilas. Without Kai it will be easier . I dont know how will Gilas beat a PBA team. Do you think Kouame can handle Abueva

Yeah, a PBA team with CJ Perez, Calvin Abueva, Stanley Pringle, Robert Bolick or Terrence Romeo. DR did it off dribble penetration off the Gilas guards. The guys I mentioned, they're the only ones who can approximate the size, speed and scoring threat of Solano, Liz, and Torres.

Where PBA teams have the edge on Gilas is gulang, physicality, and effort on 50-50 balls.

However, Gilas do have a height advantage, especially on the forward spots (except against NorthPort and Ginebra's PF). A lot of PBA 3's range from 6'1"-6'3", although there are 3-men who stand 6'4"-6'5", not to mention that we love 3-guard lineups, the third guard standing 6'1"-6'3" like most 3's. The smallest Gilas players who can play 3 is Thirdy at 6'2". Other than him, it's 6'5" Dwight, 6'6" Navarro, 6'7" Baltazar, and 6'8" Tamayo. As to the 4, well, Gilas has 6'8" Tamayo and 6'7" Baltazar, who are both skilled in the post and have a height advantage over most PBA PFs. On a lot of cases, that might be BBQ chicken, especially against 3-guard lineups.

And the perimeter game, well, even if Gilas didn't shoot that well in the 5 games, Gilas can still make a lot of PBA teams pay for rotating poorly.

 

[ARMIR2]

I say even if the Asia Cup is postponed, Gilas should still play for this pocket tournament in Jordan. Gilas needs every tune-up or actual tournament game it could get. The pocket tournament is a perfect stint for Gilas. Nandyan na rin lamang yan eh, we just have to make the most out of it.

Gotta rest those legs,for their college teams and Kai's NBL team,you don't expect them to actually keep playing high level basketball and theyperformed mediocre with their mother teams,they won't let them go next time.Some of the boys are not made with sterner stuff,as we see some of them get injuries on a high level practice and some during games.Plenty of time and tournaments to gain more experience,just gotta balance the off time too.

 

[reamily2]

Uaap is playing next year at least, unless you called college training high intense..

 

[IPC2]

Gilas guards will have trouble if they face star power guards of SMB and tnt.. I'm sure about that.. I see Romeo now back in his golden hair moves of 2015.. Belangel, nieto and RJ will have a hard time catching TR7... And I saw the highlights of tnt yesterday.. tnt has solid forwards.. you have Troy, Kelly and jaywash there.. they can match up against tamayo, baltazar and navarro.. si Kelly eh dumadunk pa eh...

While TNT can match up at the 1, 2, 4, and 5 spots, they might have a problem at the 3, where they only have Khobuntin, Ryan Reyes, and Pogoy. Of those three, only Khobuntin is not a clear mismatch at the 3. The other two would be BBQ chicken against Tamayo and Baltazar.

 

[IPC2]

Yeah.. but Ryan Reyes defensive instinct will be a problem for these two.. yesterday Kasi I watch the highlights eh he was still in tip top shape.. kinda reminds of DR guards tong si Reyes.. in PBA settings Kasi he can play three.. although small in that position.. but his strength, defensive instinct nya on hussle might cost some problems for these two.. Di pa gaano develop ang dribbling nila eh.. in SMB Naman eh grabe Naman guards nila.. Romeo is back in his 2015 days.. kundisyon... And having CJ Perez also can play 3 in PBA settings eh solve din sila.. coach tab I think if they face these three giants of pba (ginebra, SMB and tnt), he should do a lot of creativity to overcome these talents from these three...

Maybe tnt and SMB guards can give problems to gilas side.. it's hard for guys like Belangel and RJ contain the trio of pogoy, Castro and Williams while on SMB are Ross, Romeo and Perez.. while on ginebra, only Pringle will be big headache for gilas guards.. while these three teams have atleast decent height the match up gilas wing men and bigs.. if gilas has no Kai sotto, tnt and ginebra can give a good match up for gilas wings .. tnt has Troy, Kelly, jaywash and even erram to match up Vs baltazar, tamayo and navarro.. while ginebra has tolentino, Jared, JDV, and even japeth.. although gilas have advantage over SMB in wings, as only arwind and Lassiter are only good wings for SMB...

I might have to agree. Reyes is undersized, but strong. And about the two, it's not their dribbling, it's their length in the post. Quick hook from Baltazar and a turnaround from Tamayo, you might need help to defend them.

Sa SMB, if either of Perez, Marcio, or Pessumal play the 3, BBQ chicken sila kina Baltazar at Tamayo.

So far, Ginebra looks easy to defend. Too much interior action and not enough spacing. Gilas might have an easier time on defense, since the floor is shrunk.

 

[Rds2]

NLEX showed it is no pushover. Ravena and Alas are arguably superior than SJ and Abarrientos. Then you have 6'1 Cruz. Trollano is 6'3, Anthony Semerad is 6'4. That is not a bad height for a back court.

ROS defeated them. So you can't discount Nambatac's scoring explosion. But aside from Mocon I can't think of any guard or wing player that stands out.

Meralco has become pretty good. 5'11 Quinto is deceptively good. He has the strength and length to guard bigger players. Newsome is also good. He is good at the mid range and makes difficult shots. Pinto and Black give them outside shooting. Black though is questionable defensively. There are times he can't move his legs fast enough to match up his man. But then you have SF/PFs in Maliksi, Pasaol and Belo. So far they are pretty good.

 

[ARMIR2]

Yeah, a PBA team with CJ Perez, Calvin Abueva, Stanley Pringle, Robert Bolick or Terrence Romeo. DR did it off dribble penetration off the Gilas guards. The guys I mentioned, they're the only ones who can approximate the size, speed and scoring threat of Solano, Liz, and Torres.

Where PBA teams have the edge on Gilas is gulang, physicality, and effort on 50-50 balls.

However, Gilas do have a height advantage, especially on the forward spots (except against NorthPort and Ginebra's PF). A lot of PBA 3's range from 6'1"-6'3", although there are 3-men who stand 6'4"-6'5", not to mention that we love 3-guard lineups, the third guard standing 6'1"-6'3" like most 3's. The smallest Gilas players who can play 3 is Thirdy at 6'2". Other than him, it's 6'5" Dwight, 6'6" Navarro, 6'7" Baltazar, and 6'8" Tamayo. As to the 4, well, Gilas has 6'8" Tamayo and 6'7" Baltazar, who are both skilled in the post and have a height advantage over most PBA PFs. On a lot of cases, that might be BBQ chicken, especially against 3-guard lineups.

And the perimeter game, well, even if Gilas didn't shoot that well in the 5 games, Gilas can still make a lot of PBA teams pay for rotating poorly.

Gilas guards will be way taller,in the future lineups Panopio will be the shortest at 6'2 and the tallest at PG will be 6'5 Cholo,heck at the 2 spot even the 6'6 Navarro could slide in if necessary since he played the position overseas,at 3 the fast developing 6'8 Tamayo and 6'9 Baltazar,will be hard for those undersize PBA forwards to check.Balti can play the 4 too,making him a dual threat at the forward position and this why its adamant to get the 6'10 AJ as the starting 4,with Balti playing both at 4 and 3,this Gilas team can load another combo guard that can shoot the lights out.With 5 international size bigs and loading the the guard positions with F/G and PG/G,this team will contend with anybody as long as this team keeps on getting more international competition even just exibition games.

 

[IPC2]

Kouame will be also in same page as Kai if he turn pro also.. it's hard to talk to professional ballclubs abroad, especially if it's for qualifiers only.. I hope in near future we need kouame's back up NP..

Which is why we need to promote, expose, and develop as many youngsters as possible in the senior team. Take advantage of the windows so that when the time comes, there would be little drop-off in talent if some guys are not available.

 

[IPC2]

Kinda weird that Tab chose Rangel over Rike in the PBA Cadets draft this year...Rike actually fits for Fiba play as he can shoot from the outside .. He went 6/7 from 3s last game...Last year Gilas missed out on Arvin Tolentino whose deadly shooting would have come in handy..

Yeah, Rike's more polished, and has a better potential at 4. Arvin could have been converted to a legitimate wing at 6'5". Sayang.

 

[sajubeads2]

Yeah, Rike's more polished, and has a better potential at 4. Arvin could have been converted to a legitimate wing at 6'5". Sayang.

Maybe offered but umayaw? But who wont grab a Gilas stint where you are all but assured.of rookie scale Max fee...Remember Arvin was just drafted at 10th.while Rike.is at 8th...Well Arvin would have been better choice than Mike and for this year, pwede naman.5 could have been drafted instead of just 4.

 

[FITL2]

Maybe offered but umayaw? But who wont grab a Gilas stint where you are all but assured.of rookie scale Max fee...Remember Arvin was just drafted at 10th.while Rike.is at 8th...Well Arvin would have been better choice than Mike and for this year, pwede naman.5 could have been drafted instead of just 4.

Yeah this is also a possibility. Calvin Oftana was also offered a Gilas draft slot, but declined to join the regular draft. Navarro, on the other hand was supposed to be part of the regular draft before accepting the invite almost at the last second.

 

[IPC2]

I haven't seen Rangel play but I think among the big guys of Gilas cadet pool, it is Rangel who is the least promising. Geo Chiu may be not that skilled, but he is 6-foot-10 so I think he's more serviceable than Rangel.

Yeah, Chiu can battle inside, and provides a bigger body at 6'10". Rangel was still considered raw at 24. I only hope Rangel shows what he's made of, and he could prove to be serviceable, and able to play the 4.

 

[IPC2]

I think for King's Cup for 15 man team , we should bring 3 players per position and let them it duke it out for their spot...The Jordan trip will serve as their tryout


C: Kuoame, Rangel, Chui
PF: Baltazar, Go, Tamayo
SF: Ravena, Navarro, Ildefonso
SG: Heading, Suerte, Bulanadi
PG: Ramos, Nieto, SJ/RJ

You'll pretty much see the return of bansot ball with that kind of system, small players will always be superior to the taller ones because we are a small country, they got more competition here, the pace of the game is suited for their style of play, they are winning recipes for teams in our isolated local leagues that doesn't need to adapt to modern standards etc etc. SJ and Mike should be sure cuts, RJ and Matt should compete for the token midget guard spot, Ramos and Ravena should be developed long term for our mainstay tall combo guards while whoever can be the most efficient guards between Suerte, Bulanadi and Ildefonso should be chosen, the 6'6+ players in the front court should be prioritized, even expanded upon with Rangel's addition and possible transition into a 3-4 player. Tab upsizing our players has worked really well so far and has shown that size in basketball is like guns in the military, you can polish a 911 pistol all you want but it's still a pistol, you'll still be no match when you're going against someone armed with a rusty m16 or a sniper rifle. Size matters the most no matter how much we like to pretend that pinoy style of basketball exists in a vacuum and our shortcomings in height can be remedied by "talent".

I think Suerte and Bulanadi should be trained for combo guard duties, much like Thirdy and Dwight. They'll be more useful to Gilas this way, and eventually their PBA teams once they go back (hopefully at the end of their prime).

 

[IPC2]

And gilas has dodged a bullet. They will not be forced to field in a team of only one legitimate big man. On the other hand, they will now have to pen more activities. Can't afford a long off after the tournament in Jordan

I hope Tab looks for more tournaments after the King's Cup. The first WC window will be on November. 3-4 months is a long period.

 

[Stevy2]

I hope Tab looks for more tournaments after the King's Cup. The first WC window will be on November. 3-4 months is a long period.

With the Asia cup postponed to next year eh no Asian teams will do their preparations for their national team.. hence, no tune up matches against other national teams.. the only option is the pba appearance as guest team.. no choice but to accept that.. papawis nalang Yan for gilas cadets against teams from the pba...

I am hopeful for pocket tournaments in Europe and Americas. Eurobasket and Americup is also delayed to September 2022. Even Hungary, Belgium and Finland went to Japan for tuneup games. All that's left is to join said pocket tournaments whenever they are available.