Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[IPC]

Kai's perimeter D will be abused by Korea, especially if there is no AJ Edu or Ange.

its no secret that that is kai's weakness, its worrying though that if hk was able to use that to their advantage what more taipei and the kiwis. a possible adjustment is to have brownlee on his weakside.

what's good about kai's game last night is that he prevented layups and post scoring.

We really need Kai to be a success. We can't rely on JF. AJ is injury prone. Japeth can't keep getting unretired. It's always going to be JB over Ange.

We have to be patient with a 21 yr old. He has the timing for rim protection, he just needs to bulk up so he wont get pushed around. CTC has to devise defensive schemes to maximize his defense. Team defense is also key

It's funny if you look at all PBA rosters wondering who could eligibly play 10 minutes for CTC at Gilas behind Sotto against a team like NZ and not look like shark bait. They already have Tamayo who was on the floor when HK clawed back into the game.

Wala talaga.

They're all semi-positionless players who are 6'5 or taller. No disrespect to Geoff Chiu and Will Navarro, but Nenad ran into this problem when they got blown tf out way back when even Ramos was playing the 4. Kai is tall, but bigs gotta play big. Maybe asking Sotto to play 35 minutes won't be too much to ask if that problem happens in other windows.

You only need one good center, the rest are tall versatile guys. Tab said as much in an interview. The problem now is Kai is not yet as good defensively as Edu or Kouame. Second, is we don't have a good defensive PF. Tamayo is not good defensively. Jaimie is small in high comp. JB is there. But it's something we need to consider when we change JB.

this was supposed to be balti's role, but he regressed due to poor decision-making

That's why its good to have this two,since Tamayo is more the offense combo forward while Balti is more in the defense side but also have offensive capability.

We're in trouble if we're going to rely on Tamayo on defense since that's probably the weakest part of his game. He's more of a stretch 4/ combo forward than defensive anchor. That's why its important to build the roster properly

Wow, the conversation in this Kai thread is actually rational.

Like what some have mentioned, Kai's effectiveness will depend on matchups. He arrived a few decades late for us. Just like Junmar, he has a ceiling defensively. It's not entirely their fault, even a lot of american 7-footers have become outdated, what more asian 7-footers. It's just reality. The bright side is, quite a few countries don't even have a 7-footer.

That's on the defensive side. On the offensive side, he still has a lot of possible upside. He has a good shooting touch, and at 21 he will only get stronger and wiser. And when he gains confidence (which is very important), he can really be something.

For gilas context, it's so important to have Edu masking his deficiencies. I think if we were to acquire other NPs, they should be able to do Edu's role at the very least.

My dream frontline is Kai,Ange,AJ,Balti,Carl,it will definitely balance things out and it won't extend Kai under any circumstances.

Mine too. If they don't want Ange then replace him with a similar but better bigman. We don't need a high scoring wing when our Frontline is so iffy.

IMO it would be disastrous to pair Kai with Carl, and an even bigger one to have him as his sub. Pair a defensive big with them at all times.

Kai would be more productive defensively if paired with AJ or Balti,Carl is more effective with the likes of AK,where offesively he can roam the perimeter and create his own shots.

This is where roster construction comes into play. We need to get personnel that will minimize Kai's issues on defense, especially if AJ gets hurt (hopefully not for the rest of his career). We have good defenders at the 1, 2, and 3 in Scottie, Newsome, Oftana, and Dwight, so perimeter is covered. At the 4 and 5 spots, doon ang problema kasi AJ's the only all-around good defender there that can cover for anyone.

Here's the options for the frontline:

1. Hope for exemptions for guys like Mike Phillips;
2. Get Ange or another NP at the 4/5 who can defend reasonably well to minimize Kai's defensive issues and AJ's injuries;
3. Get some current locals who have reasonable mobility and length, e.g. Kemark Carino or even Justine Baltazar;
4. Like sir ccharmed suggested, "develop migrant 15-year old Kouame-sized NT players" to compensate (I think he meant FSA's);
5. Hope that AJ stays healthier and/or that Kai can improve further on defense;
6. Develop our tall guys (200cm and above) who have mobility to be good defenders at at least the 4 spot, or defend in space (ala Kim Jong-kyu, Song Kyo-chang, Ha Yungi, Yuta Watanabe) so we won't have that big of an issue on bigman defense. SoKor could do it, and they have a similar average height to us.

Hopefully, SBP can explore these options.

[IPC]

Brownlee is past his prime at 35. He will be 39 in 4 years. Establishing a team with him as NP doesn't make sense. Finding a replacement for him will not easy as well. Finding a two-way 6'6 and up SF is not easy even in the NBA. Look at how Jordan got RHJ. A good defender but bad shooter. TC basing his team on a guy with defense and offense as Brownlee doesn't look feasible. His replacement will have a hole in his game either on offense or defense. And any hole in the replacement NPs game will break TC's system.

I think eventually, we will reach our ceiling with JB as NP as the comp gets better and as he gets older. The only hope for our team with JB as NP is a healthy Edu. With Edu's history, that's a losing gamble. It may not happen this year or next year but it will happen. Before 4 year cycle ends the ceiling of this team will be reached. I just hope they switch over to Kouame sooner before it's too late.

Edit:

Tab and even Nenad showed that we can devise an offense without an SG/SF NP. A center NP is still the most effective position. Unfortunately, it will put Kai and Junemar on the bench. But we have to accept that. If they are not really world level at this point, no point in forcing the issue.

Yeah, we will have to replace JB soon, hopefully with a good defensive NP who can play the 4/5 (OK lang if just 5) at the FIBA level. Team defense won't be enough if we don't have the personnel.

I anticipate that JB will retire from Gilas next year, after the Asia Cup. In recent history nga, only Asi, Gary David, and Dondon Hontiveros played for the NT past 35.

[deku_midoriya]

We have to develop kai. His stint in Japan battling import bigs will help him. Adding a big NP in Gilas wont. He has to play lots of in game playing mins for him to gain experience. He already had limited PT in the NBL, with chot, and with hiroshima and we are trying to limit his PT in Gilas? We want him to improve but we are not exposing him? Im confident he will be a reliable defensive presence in the paint in the coming years.

We have to be patient and trust the process.

[Silent Killer]

Brownlee is past his prime at 35. He will be 39 in 4 years. Establishing a team with him as NP doesn't make sense. Finding a replacement for him will not easy as well. Finding a two-way 6'6 and up SF is not easy even in the NBA. Look at how Jordan got RHJ. A good defender but bad shooter. TC basing his team on a guy with defense and offense as Brownlee doesn't look feasible. His replacement will have a hole in his game either on offense or defense. And any hole in the replacement NPs game will break TC's system.

I think eventually, we will reach our ceiling with JB as NP as the comp gets better and as he gets older. The only hope for our team with JB as NP is a healthy Edu. With Edu's history, that's a losing gamble. It may not happen this year or next year but it will happen. Before 4 year cycle ends the ceiling of this team will be reached. I just hope they switch over to Kouame sooner before it's too late.

Edit:

Tab and even Nenad showed that we can devise an offense without an SG/SF NP. A center NP is still the most effective position. Unfortunately, it will put Kai and Junemar on the bench. But we have to accept that. If they are not really world level at this point, no point in forcing the issue.

SBP should get ineligibles instead.. get boogie ellis or ron harper jr. both 2/3 players.. harper jr. can play small ball 4 as well..

[Giannis34GOD]

Rather than Boatwright, there are many imports who played before in the PBA that is fit to our needs, especially at 4 spot… Where is KJ McDaniels? I think he suits our needs at 4, he’s also good defender, can score too and good fit for Kai… Thomas Robinson? He’s the 2nd version of Blatche (2014 version), he’s fit well too… I dunno why SBP didn’t reach out for them to be our Naturalized players… Boatwright is good but his defense is suspect… we need more defensive minded player than offensive minded player… I will rather pick Tyler Bey than him, due to his defensive skills… He can score too by the way…

[gilasfan]

We hate Chot but let's give him some props on scouting.

I think he is the one responsible for discovering Dwight.
He is the one who convince Clarkson to play here as early as pre NBA days
And more i believe so.

[gilasfan]

Every year, there are guys like Mike P, Kai B, Villegas, Lucero, Stevens, etc waiting to be discovered in the US. If only we can discover them before 16 and convince them to get passports it solves our "big" problem.

The thing is, discovering them early is beneficial for Gilas and schools, while discovering them late is beneficial for the PBA.

Its easier to recruit now than before. Getting a PH passport gives them a chance to play in Japan/Korea unlike before. I guess should have B League opened up more to Pinoy players earlier, we could have convince the likes of Sage Tolentino etc to get the passport at 16.

[CoJ]

We hate Chot but let's give him some props on scouting.

I think he is the one responsible for discovering Dwight.
He is the one who convince Clarkson to play here as early as pre NBA days
And more i believe so.

He was also responsible for discovering gabe norwood and jimmy alapag back in the day..

I thought dwight was a tab recruit

[B L A C K S U N]

He was also responsible for discovering gabe norwood and jimmy alapag back in the day..

I thought dwight was a tab recruit

Should've stayed as a scout then.

[ARMIR]

We have to develop kai. His stint in Japan battling import bigs will help him. Adding a big NP in Gilas wont. He has to play lots of in game playing mins for him to gain experience. He already had limited PT in the NBL, with chot, and with hiroshima and we are trying to limit his PT in Gilas? We want him to improve but we are not exposing him? Im confident he will be a reliable defensive presence in the paint in the coming years.

We have to be patient and trust the process.

That would be unwise and stupid to not add another big,he can't guard his man in the PNR now and he won't be in the future.The low level shooters in HK team didn't even respect his perimeter defense and they shoot in his face with his outstretched arms and that's the maximum level of defense that you gonna get from him,he won't jump towards that ball since he knows his legs might land on the shooters feet.The Bleague bigs are either undersize or past their prime he's not gonna get better for sure.What he needs to do is go back to the minimum wage Gleague and that means taking a paycut and for context an IN N Out manager makes more than a Gleague player,but he will get better.As of now he's behind Ange and AJ both in skills and overall basketball play.The HK guards were driving easy baskets on him whenever he's out of that deep under the rim position,his motorskills prevents him from recovering quick enough,and his teamates just stand there,thinking he's a Chet or Wemby and will block it easily.

[JAMSKIE]

In that game against Hongkong, Calvin Oftana struggled with his 3pt shooting while it was Jamie Malonzo who was hitting 3's. I remember some fans taking notice of Malonzo's offensive struggle in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

My take is, when it is only Asia-Oceania level, I'm confident Malonzo is very much serviceable for Gilas. Things would be diffrrent when we're talking world class level of competition. Well, a lot of our players who are good enough in Asian level competition struggle eventually pag world class competition na.

Malonzo for me is a combo forward but more of a four. Oftana on the other hand is really a natural small forward wiith better handles than Malonzo. But for me, both are vital components of Gilas. The idea is to expose them to the FIBA game & other international competitions as much as possible to get them more used to the FIBA game environment.

[live_evil]

Alapag was a Ron Jacobs discovery, if I remember it correctly.

The simplest and the best solution to a lot of our roster concern is to get Ange the local exemption. Having him as a local will give the coach more options for a naturalized player. But Al Panlilio is an imbecile so he doesn't do it.

[IPC]

Alapag was a Ron Jacobs discovery, if I remember it correctly.

The simplest and the best solution to a lot of our roster concern is to get Ange the local exemption. Having him as a local will give the coach more options for a naturalized player. But Al Panlilio is an imbecile so he doesn't do it.

Dy should be the one to lobby, as she was a member of FIBA's legal team, and is currently SBP's current executive director.

[Metta]

Its easier to recruit now than before. Getting a PH passport gives them a chance to play in Japan/Korea unlike before. I guess should have B League opened up more to Pinoy players earlier, we could have convince the likes of Sage Tolentino etc to get the passport at 16.

Yes, this is definitely a plus especially for the recruit's parents. At that age, the recruit is only thinking about the nba. The parents however are more realistic, they just have to be made aware of the possibilities being opened by having a passport.

If I may add, the process of getting dual citizenship can really be tedious/bothersome for some people (even if it's really just 2 trips to the consulate). However, there are lawyers/paralegals who can be hired to do the legwork to make it convenient. It's best that they are hired for the really elite prospects. It saves so much more money (and lost time) compared to how much we would have to spend if we go the "exemption" rule later on. I'd say for any kid 6'5 and above before age 16, automatically provide this type of service.

[deku_midoriya]

That would be unwise and stupid to not add another big,he can't guard his man in the PNR now and he won't be in the future.The low level shooters in HK team didn't even respect his perimeter defense and they shoot in his face with his outstretched arms and that's the maximum level of defense that you gonna get from him,he won't jump towards that ball since he knows his legs might land on the shooters feet.The Bleague bigs are either undersize or past their prime he's not gonna get better for sure.What he needs to do is go back to the minimum wage Gleague and that means taking a paycut and for context an IN N Out manager makes more than a Gleague player,but he will get better.As of now he's behind Ange and AJ both in skills and overall basketball play.The HK guards were driving easy baskets on him whenever he's out of that deep under the rim position,his motorskills prevents him from recovering quick enough,and his teamates just stand there,thinking he's a Chet or Wemby and will block it easily.

What is a 7'2 doing guarding the perimeter?