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Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

  • Thread starter Thread starter IPC2
  • Start date Start date
JAMSKIE said:
I'm just thinking that maybe as our Gilas players get to practice/scrimmage & play more together as a team, the more they improve their defense collectively as a team. I mean, just like offense, defense also requires coordination & teamwork and those aspects are developed thru time & playing/practicing together as a unit. What I like about our current Gilas players is that a No. of them are decent defenders like Newsome, Iskati, AJ Edu, Brownlee, Dwight Ramos, & even CJ Perez. If guys like Oftana, Tamayo, Kai Sotto, Malonzo improve their individual defensive skills then that would only be beneficial to the team. But then again, defense also requires teamwork so its a total team effort.

Because of teamwork on defense we can hide or compensate for the defensive shortcomings of some our players. Hindi naman kasi yan maiiwasan that a No. of our Gilas players aren't really that good on defense.
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That's what transpired in the OQT. During the prep games, the defensive strategy was a work in progress. As they played more games, they kept improving and eventually Latvia happened.

Another thing to keep in mind. Like I've said before, we don't have the quality wherein our team will match-up well with each and every team in this higher tiered level. Just like Japan, we can only aim to beat "certain" teams. We're not suddenly going to become world-beaters. It's a progression, what's important is we're forming an identity. As we keep playing against these higher level teams (which we should do more often), that is when we figure things out and continually improve.
 
Is 6-foot-11 Ahmad Al Dwairi of Jordan the best among the local (naturalized players excluded) centers in Asian basketball right now? Maybe a toss-up between Kai Sotto & China's Zhou Qi as the 2nd best center in Asia.

But I'm confident in 2 or 3 years time, the tables would be turned upside down. Kai is going to overtake Al Dwairi for the top center spot in Asian basketball. 3 years from now, Al Dwairi would already be 34 yrs old while Kai would only be 25 yrs old. Al Dwairi would be on the way down in his basketball career trajectory while Kai would still be on his way up.

I've observed Al Dwairi's games in the last 5 years or so & I noticed that while he is really a skilled & strong center, he lacks an outside shot. He doesn't even have a decent medium range shot. No doubt inside the shaded lane he's really lethal but if he is outside of the paint, he is not a threat. U can't say the same about Kai because the kid can hit from mid-range & would be more than willing to take open 3-pt shots. And we can expect Kai to improve his mid-range & 3-pt shots even further as he matures. Of course in terms of physical strength, Al Dwairi outshines Kai easily at present. But as Kai's body matures - his bone & muscle mass get better, the gap in terms of physical strength between him & Al Dwairi would be narrowed. Kai enjoys a 3-inch height advantage over Al Dwairi.
 
JAMSKIE said:
Is 6-foot-11 Ahmad Al Dwairi of Jordan the best among the local (naturalized players excluded) centers in Asian basketball right now? Maybe a toss-up between Kai Sotto & China's Zhou Qi as the 2nd best center in Asia.

But I'm confident in 2 or 3 years time, the tables would be turned upside down. Kai is going to overtake Al Dwairi for the top center spot in Asian basketball. 3 years from now, Al Dwairi would already be 34 yrs old while Kai would only be 25 yrs old. Al Dwairi would be on the way down in his basketball career trajectory while Kai would still be on his way up.

I've observed Al Dwairi's games in the last 5 years or so & I noticed that while he is really a skilled & strong center, he lacks an outside shot. He doesn't even have a decent medium range shot. No doubt inside the shaded lane he's really lethal but if he is outside of the paint, he is not a threat. U can't say the same about Kai because the kid can hit from mid-range & would be more than willing to take open 3-pt shots. And we can expect Kai to improve his mid-range & 3-pt shots even further as he matures. Of course in terms of physical strength, Al Dwairi outshines Kai easily at present. But as Kai's body matures - his bone & muscle mass get better, the gap in terms of physical strength between him & Al Dwairi would be narrowed. Kai enjoys a 3-inch height advantage over Al Dwairi.
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If we’re excluding Australia and NZ, then:

I’d put Zhou slightly above Al-Dwairi because the former has a more well-rounded game. Zhou has struggled with injuries as of late but when he’s 100%, he is lethal.

Al-Dwairi is ahead in terms of post presence but in today’s game, you need to be able to do everything (e.g. Jokic).

Kai, as you said, just needs to improve his strength and he’ll be right up there.

Another mention should be: Mohammed Al-Suwailem of KSA

He’s also a good center but struggles against stronger Asian teams because his surrounding cast isn’t the best.

If Australia and NZ are included, then you can’t go wrong with Frolling (Aus), Thon (Aus), Brandt (Aus), Timmins (NZ), and Adams (NZ).

The two Ocenia teams are miles ahead of Asian teams in terms of bigs.
 
sroth3839

2018 Asian Games Zhou Qi was the best version of Zhou Qi ever. But since then, he seems to have deteriorated. As U mentioned, injuries may have slowed him down.

During the 2018 Asian Games, Zhou Qi was 22 yrs old which is Kai's current age. I say, a 22-year old Zhou Qi would outperform a 22-year old Kai Sotto.

How time flies that Zhou is now 28 yrs old. I think Zhou has already reached his peak or if ever he will still improve, kunti nalang yan. Kai on the other hand at 22 still has a huge room for improvement. Wag lang sana ma injured si Kai.
 
JAMSKIE said:
But Strong Group Athletics' goal is purely winning championships in international competitions like Jones Cup & Dubai Invitational Basketball Championships that is why they load up their team with a good number of good quality imports. I don't know if Strong Group would be willing to bankroll a team whose main goal is player development while winning a championship would just be a secondary goal.
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maybe Tim can see some sort of Alvin Patrimonio in him. The guy is old school and have seen some talents in the Philippines. I just hope the kid would be healthy anf will gain a lot of more valuable basketball experience as time goes by. I have a feeling Tim will beat New Zealand in one of their meetings. This is again one historical feat.
 
If the news/rumor is true that Kamaka Hepa is FIBA eligible, then the next step should be to convince that guy to play in the PBA. Pag nasa PBA na yan, he will surely be considered for Gilas inclusion. I think Hepa will be an instant impact guy for Gilas. He most likely would be Gilas' best 4. In fact he could be among the elite 4 in Asian basketball right away joining the likes of Yuta Watanabe, Ali Haidar, etc.
 
I can't help but salivate on the possible Gilas frontcourt of Kai, AJ Edu, Mike Philipps, Bennie Boatwright, Kamaka Hepa & Carl Tamayo. That possibility may come 3 to 4 years from now. We will be a very tough nut to crack in Asian basketball if that happens.
 
lem0nadi said:
This is frustrating. When will Gilas have another player of Andray Blatche's caliber? Now that we have a generational talent pool, the lack of a high-caliber big import is holding us back. I just want to experience watching a player of prime Andray Blatche's caliber (that 2014 WC form) with our current Gilas talent.

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba...ery-for-achilles-injury-a793-20240813-fbfirst
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Giannis34GOD said:
Bennie Boatwright suffers Achilles injury... He will be out for months and possibly he can't participate atleast as practice player for Gilas in upcoming 2nd window of qualifiers in November...
https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba...ahSMPEbshptXh-RHCg_aem__3mHxd-37MbfdU_3Z5ALvQ
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JAMSKIE said:
Oh achilles injury that required surgery! I hope it won't slow down Boatwright or in any way has a detrimental effect in his basketball career.
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Giannis34GOD said:
We need back up for him.. his injury is very serious matter... We don't know if he can be same as before... He will be like Chris McCollough... Good player but always suffered many injuries that slowed his progress as player..
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We still have Ange in tow. Not a go-to guy, but serviceable big. Can fill in, especially in case JB's unavailable, and AJ's injured.

Hope Bennie can recover. His game isn't that dependent on athleticism, so I like his chances of coming back.
 
reamily said:
Nik Rakocevic needs to improve his three point shooting, SMC's job to fin that 6'10 cheat code in fiba competitions
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​I'd say that we'll need a two-way 4/5. But if guys like Malonzo, Kai, Carl, and Quiambao can improve on defense, defense from the NP spot will be less of a priority, more on offense.

And our defense worked in the OQT, even while we're missing AJ. Let's hope it holds in the future.
 
Here is an idea for Ange Kouame to qualify as a local in FIBA, if the PBA wont accomodate him maybe the MPBL can do that instead.
 
JAMSKIE said:
If the news/rumor is true that Kamaka Hepa is FIBA eligible, then the next step should be to convince that guy to play in the PBA. Pag nasa PBA na yan, he will surely be considered for Gilas inclusion. I think Hepa will be an instant impact guy for Gilas. He most likely would be Gilas' best 4. In fact he could be among the elite 4 in Asian basketball right away joining the likes of Yuta Watanabe, Ali Haidar, etc.
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Kamaka Hepa, Sage Tolentino, QMB, Barefield & Mike Philipps Oks na hehe
 
r1ck said:
Here is an idea for Ange Kouame to qualify as a local in FIBA, if the PBA wont accomodate him maybe the MPBL can do that instead.
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It has to be during his offseason either from Europe or somewhere else.
 
I just hope Bennie Boatwright's Achilles injury isn't as bad as the one Danny Seigle suffered in 2002 or the one Klay Thompson suffered some years ago.
 
JAMSKIE said:
I just hope Bennie Boatwright's Achilles injury isn't as bad as the one Danny Seigle suffered in 2002 or the one Klay Thompson suffered some years ago.
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At least this happened this early and not at the last moment close to 2028.

A reason for concern is he also had 2 knee injuries in college. And good thing is it's still early to assess things.
 
Metta said:
At least this happened this early and not at the last moment close to 2028.

A reason for concern is he also had 2 knee injuries in college. And good thing is it's still early to assess things.
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Oh my! So he's somewhat injury prone.
 
JAMSKIE said:
I expect Boatwright to be with Gilas post 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. By that time, he's probably healed & recovered from his foot injury.
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After the Asia Cup, here are the ages of the local 13:

Japeth: 38
June Mar: 35
Newsome: 35
Scottie: 32
CJ: 31
Oftana: 29
Malonzo: 29
Dwight: 26
AJ: 25
Carl: 24
Quiambao: 24
Kai: 23
Mason: 20

If Bennie's going to be our NP after the Asia Cup, we will need to surround him with good defenders so we can hide him. Navarro's currently our best wing defender, sucks that he plays mostly PF in NorthPort. Oftana and Malonzo haven't shown much capability on defense outside of a scheme. Heading's a decent defender, but Scottie, Dwight, CJ, and Newsome are capable. Kemark Carino might be a good bigman defender. We will need to have Ange and Mike exempted.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXUtjLv_7oY

See the inaccuracies of this blogger.
Firstly, Boatwright's injury isn't ACL but in his Achilles heel.

Secondly, while ACL is a serious injury that would require some time to recover, it isn't as bad or much of a career threatening injury as the blogger was implying.

"Maliit ang percentage ng mga players na naka recover & still perform on a high level matapos magka ACL injury", according to the blogger.

I don't think so

There are actually countless of players, may it be PBA, NBA or players from other leagues & countries, that suffered turn ACL injuries that were able to continue playing at a high level with such injuries hardly slowed them down or affected their speed & athleticism.

The late Samboy Lim (my favorite player in the 90's) suffered multiple ACL injuries (& other injuries as well), yet after recovering from every ACL injury lumilipad pa rin si Samboy & was able to play like the Samboy Lim of old. Allein Maliksi suffered 2 ACL injuries already in his career yet Maliksi is still among the elite wingman in the PBA at 36 yrs old. Kevin Alas suffered ACL injury a few years ago yet when he came back playing its as if he never had any injury. Too bad he was hit by an ACL injury again some months ago. Robert Bolick suffered an ACL injury a few years ago but when he came back into action, mas lalo pa nga syang gumaling. Not too many people are even aware that Bolick had once suffered an ACL injury with the way he has been playing. And right now, I think Bolick is a consensus choice as the PBA's best point guard. Lebanon's ace point guard Wael Arakji also suffered an ACL tear a few years ago, yet after recovering from such injury, he played like the same Wael Arakji that is touted to be the best point guard in Asian basketball at present.

I think in the case of Derick Rose whose career really was hampered by several leg/foot injuries, eh naka ilang serious injuries naman kasi si Derick Rose eh.
 
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