We were competitive against georgia and brazil without Kai and edu. Hoping another magical coaching by Cone
for the record Cone has never had a healthy Edu so it was all just Kai and he still managed to work wonders, now im not saying we should keep wishing for that well till it runs dry, it would definitely be ideal if we can have reinforcements for the two.
Sa bagay, no, that zone against Georgia, and offense was the issue against Brazil (although June Mar's PnR defense was attacked that game).
Yeah, hope Cone can have some magic, and we can win against good teams with those adjustments. Start with the NZ game next window, then the Asia Cup.
Still, hope for some contingencies in case of Kai and AJ both missing key games. Get another interior defensive center, or hope Carl can turn into a decent enough defender.
We won’t be playing against World Level teams till 2027 assuming we qualify for the WC.
Our team shouldn’t rely on Kai. We won the Asiad gold without him and Edu after all. Yeah, I get that Ange was there but it’s not like he made as much impact Brownlee.
The toughest opponents we have till Feb 2027 are: Australia, NZ, China, Lebanon, Korea, Japan, Iran, and Jordan.
We should focus on strengthening our chemistry to be competitive against those teams for now.
Cone magic is nice but we need it the most against Australia and NZ, whom we will meet next month, Asia Cup, and in the WCQ (at least one them).
We’re good for now.
CTC has built the team to be competitive based on chemistry and it’s paying off.
We will definitely have a big hole without Kai. At this point I don't want to rely on AJ. I do think it's time we consider Ange as NP.
It's that or probably rotate the center minutes between June Mar, Japeth, JB, and maybe even Carl. June Mar can score inside, but he's a defensive liability, Japeth can do a shift, JB's a 3/4, and Carl might need to improve his overall defense.
We have to hope Carl improves his overall defense to the point that he's not an easy blow-by, or at least someone who can make it tough to reach the basket. He's a good post defender, but the other aspects, might need to improve.
If we don't have an interior defender, I think we will need more small ball lineups, especially if Carl improves his defense. We run small ball lineups with JB at 4 anyways, but without Kai and AJ, we will have to be content with that. We might zone with June Mar to extend his playing time, but that may give up points to teams who can move the ball and shoot outside.
It's that or probably rotate the center minutes between June Mar, Japeth, JB, and maybe even Carl. June Mar can score inside, but he's a defensive liability, Japeth can do a shift, JB's a 3/4, and Carl might need to improve his overall defense.
We have to hope Carl improves his overall defense to the point that he's not an easy blow-by, or at least someone who can make it tough to reach the basket. He's a good post defender, but the other aspects, might need to improve.
If we don't have an interior defender, I think we will need more small ball lineups, especially if Carl improves his defense. We run small ball lineups with JB at 4 anyways, but without Kai and AJ, we will have to be content with that. We might zone with June Mar to extend his playing time, but that may give up points to teams who can move the ball and shoot outside.
looking at the Northport game yesterday I think its high time we start incorporating/including Will navarro on Gilas, plays well beyond his size, was able to decently defend Brownlee (keyword decent). very aggressive
He will be behind Oftana and Malonzo, but he would be a great backup for them.
Will should be considered. Oftana IMO has been under achieving in Fiba and Malonzo’s health is still a question mark.
Oftana's defended pretty decently since the OQT. It's his shooting that's been erratic.
Malonzo, yeah, he has to get healthy and show something consistently as a 3-and-D player in FIBA.
Agree that Will should be considered, even as a reserve.
Oftana's defended pretty decently since the OQT. It's his shooting that's been erratic.
Malonzo, yeah, he has to get healthy and show something consistently as a 3-and-D player in FIBA.
Agree that Will should be considered, even as a reserve.
For now we have need to be contended with Japeth. Limited choices at the moment…
I think there is still a good chance AJ is playing this coming window. Malonzo is coming back as well.
Also, will the team go with Boatwright immediately or stick to JB?
The guy will turn 37 this year.
I think Ange Kouame should play in the MPBL for the sake of his FIBA clearance if the PBA still wont allow him to play there. And if SGA again bankrolls another team like they did with Manila last season then I think they could afford to pay Kouame.