Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[Rds]

I think Besides Oftana. Tolentino may be the next Proper Sized Quality SF in Pba.

What do you think IPC? No Bias Kasi Ginebra tayo ah. Haha

Pass on Tolentino. He cant guard the perimeter. But Oftana showed promise in his Gilas stint.

He mightve done well in the recent Gins game which I didnt see. But from all of the games Ive seen of him, he seems pretty bad at perimeter defense and defense in general. Remember that putback by Trollano that allowed NLEX to win. That was on him.

[JAMSKIE]

Troy doesnt have the character to play physical. Mas matapang di hamak si Tamayo

Agree.
While Troy is more athletic, Carl plays more physical & seems tougher than Troy.

[IPC]

Agree.
While Troy is more athletic, Carl plays more physical & seems tougher than Troy.

Carl's also a better post defender. He's not a total liability on defense. Just needs some better anticipation on help.

Troy hasn't built up a good rep on defense. He just has a good motor, but so does Carl on rebounds.

[IPC]

Actually the NBA plays small ball in the Olympics. They play 6'8 and 6'7 natural PFs as their main centers. They play tall SFs as PFs. Thats the current definition of small ball. Defensive quickness and versatility. Offensive quickness and spacing. Note that Bam is a non 3 pt shooter. He is not even a stretch 4. But he can guards players 1 to 5. He is a good screen setter and decent paint threat which offsets his being a non shooter.

But defenses can still cheat on him on D. It works because Cs are primarily defenders and the weakest 3 pt shooters. Meaning he can also cheat on most opposing Cs.

On the other hand the Bulls might have been the earliest competitive small ball not Nellie ball. Their most potent lineup was with Jordan, Harper, Pippen and Rodman at C. Rodman could guard 1 to 5. The other guys could defend from 1 to 3 or 1 to 4.

Basically Im saying for small ball, defensive versatility is more important than offense. Thats what separates the 72 win Bulls champions to the barely .500 Nellie warriors.

That's the philosophy for every successful small ball team. The 72-win Bulls and the Big 3 Heat had defensively versatile small ball teams, as did the 2015-19 Dubs. Players who could guard multiple positions and switch. And as you said, that's the trend for the NBA these days.

The Gilas youth teams should aspire for more versatile tall players rather than big traditional lineups, since we're small in stature. Develop agility muna and defense, if we're gonna be using small ball to develop our young Gilas players. Gonna help the players in the senior team in the long run.

So using Tab's Gilas as a template, maybe a good template for a small-ball lineup defensively would be Dwight-Oftana-Navarro-Baltazar, with Navarro and Oftana as interchangeable forwards and Baltazar at 5 as a small-ball 5 who can switch to the perimeter for stretches.

Not as good defensively, but it's our best for now, and probably the most feasible. Hope the Gilas youth program could use that specific lineup as a basis to train and select our future teams.

Now, going to Chot and the senior team, if he likes going small, the lineup I mentioned would be a more proper small-ball lineup from 2 to 4. However, he might need to tweak it against bigger competition, put Kai or Kouame at center, or even go for a more traditional lineup at 4 and 5, while retaining size at the 3.

[mathematicianrcg]

Now, going to Chot and the senior team, if he likes going small, the lineup I mentioned would be a more proper small-ball lineup from 2 to 4. However, he might need to tweak it against bigger competition, put Kai or Kouame at center, or even go for a more traditional lineup at 4 and 5, while retaining size at the 3.

Who is your Starting 5 for 2023 IPC?

Mine would be:

PG: Kiefer
SG: Dwight
SF: JC or Oftana/Baltazar (If Ange is NP)
PF: Ange or AJ (if JC is the NP)
C: Kai

I had a hard time in SG/SF if Ange is NP. I would have gone with Parks if he will join. But probably he wouldnt. So I need to choose. Ended up with Oftana

[IPC]

Who is your Starting 5 for 2023 IPC?

Mine would be:

PG: Kiefer
SG: Dwight
SF: JC or Oftana/Baltazar (If Ange is NP)
PF: Ange or AJ (if JC is the NP)
C: Kai

I had a hard time in SG/SF if Ange is NP. I would have gone with Parks if he will join. But probably he wouldnt. So I need to choose. Ended up with Oftana

Kiefer-Dwight-JC/Oftana-Baltazar-Ange. That will be my initial starting 5.

If Kai and Ange show chemistry and ability to play together on defense, maybe I can replace Balti with Ange. That could show some upside on defense. That is, if Ange is our NP.

[IPC]

Balti's body right now is not built for strength but for mobility. He can be taken advantaged of by Carl in the post because of this. Also because of the strength disadvantage he wont be able to use brute strength on Carl. The answer has always been Balti should improve his face up game. Consider also that Balti plays a lot more minutes and has greater over all defensive role than Carl. Basically Balti's lighter weight is what made him our 2nd best defender in Gilas. He switched on everybody. But it leaves him vulnerable in post defense and offense. But internationally you could see the plus minus overwhelmingly favors Balti over Carl because of his perimeter defense.

This is why he should go to an international league and not in the PBA. His perimeter defense will not be used here. And his lack of strength will be taken advantaged of.

Balti could just gain some muscles and Carl wont be able to bully in the paint. But that will slow him down and weaken his perimeter defense. His perimeter defense is what made him so valuable for Gilas and not his post strength.

This is the June Mar conundrum again. The PBA made June Mar gain all that weight to be unstoppable in the paint. But at thr same time it made him a defensive liability internationally.

It's more common to see stretch fours, or versatile ones in FIBA, rather than low-post PFs. I can see that the international game fits Baltazar better than the traditional basketball here. More of switchable defender siya, and a stretch four and garbage man offensively, which is serviceable.

[IPC]

Homer Sayson says other countries could pry Tab from the Philippines: https://twitter.com/HomerSayson/stat...a3EsGOFfg&s=19

I have doubts, since it's Sayson, but well, err on the side of caution.

[reamily]

Homer Sayson says other countries could pry Tab from the Philippines: https://twitter.com/HomerSayson/stat...a3EsGOFfg&s=19

I have doubts, since it's Sayson, but well, err on the side of caution.

Ayos lang Qatar o Saudi hahah..still the coaching and skills should be in there together di one sided.. SBP will be more than willing absta wag lang smc makakuha sa kanya

[Rds]

Homer Sayson says other countries could pry Tab from the Philippines: https://twitter.com/HomerSayson/stat...a3EsGOFfg&s=19

I have doubts, since it's Sayson, but well, err on the side of caution.

Tab says he doesnt want to leave. He is getting old already. But a national team is a great challenge for a competitor like him. I hope SBP reconsiders.

[ARMIR]

Agree.
While Troy is more athletic, Carl plays more physical & seems tougher than Troy.

For reference,we can ask Lee Hyun-jung how tough and physical Carl was to him.Carl is improving in the athletic side,the more he plays the 3,the more he has to adjust to the speed of the position.The only thing that's going to slow him down are injuries.

[IPC]

Just want a decent showing in the WC. If it's a dismal showing I might stop following Gilas & PH basketball in general.

If they get blown out and go 0-5 on home soil that would be a sight to behold.

I just hope they aren't down by 40+ and getting embarrassed against one of the world class teams and Basketbrawl II is started.

That should be enough to get the SBP officials to resign, qnd Chot's contract would be over by then. Question is, who will replace them? Hopefully someone who has the same vision as Tab, or even better.

[BJ_Reloaded]

Live and let die with the Do or Die Offense..dribble all you want..dribble all you can…dribble all the way, all the time..then shoot the ball come what may to be a hero ball on every possession until the end of the 4th quarter..no pick and slide play, no roll over the screen and after the game during media interview and press releases, Gilas Puso was very much manifested amongst the player despite the challenges on hand hence on behalf of the coaching staff and the SBP top officials they are proud of the boys for all their sacrifices against all odds..Moral victory at its finest…the Cliché.

[mathematicianrcg]

That should be enough to get the SBP officials to resign, qnd Chot's contract would be over by then. Question is, who will replace them? Hopefully someone who has the same vision as Tab, or even better.

It should be a Filipino Actually. Because a Foreign Coach Will always have some issues with Bcap or other local coaching agencies.

But it will be hard to find a local filipino coach who is as good as coach tab

[IPC]

Tab Baldwin was steering Gilas in the right direction. The outlook does look grim but at least there is workable talent.

Agreed that Tab was steering Gilas in the right direction. Got those two wins against SoKor because of cohesion.

Man, that change of direction will set Gilas back a couple years at least.

That 2021 Tab coached-gilas team (played for AC qualifiers and OQT) was very special. Talent and Youth combined.
There’s could be possible podium finish.

That was the antithesis of the Gilas teams prior to that one. Some talent which had upside, but also had enough cohesion on both ends. Very disciplined and gave effort. Yes, Tab relies on his stars too, but at least they ain't a crutch consistently.

The sooner we get another version of that, the better.

That would be impossible for now, as SBP dream line-up will be mix of mostly PBA vets, NP, Kai, and some bleague boys.

Hay, nako. He was already setting a template. Cohesive team with good preparation, plus good defensive rotations. In addition, he was already setting a good template with players who could guard multiple positions, like having Dwight, Navarro, Baltazar on that team. Cohesive team on both ends, especially on defense, and versatile defenders, which he's doing with Ateneo.

Man, that template of small ball with versatile defenders could have been ideal for Pinoy teams. Too bad na-cut short. Oh, well.