Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[C2Hamm]

I think Kobe Paras despite having all the physical gifts (height, athleticims, build) lacks one important thing and that is the proper mindset to commit to basketball. I remember reading somewhere that during his B league stints his coaches were turned off at Kobe's lack of effort on defense and sense of entitlement to be the primary option on offense. Even during his UP days there were whispers that he had attitude problems and at times clashed with Bright. It seems pretty clear basketball is not his main priority in life but I guess he will be back to playing when his money runs out

has anyone actually asked him, do you actually want to play bball? or you just doing it cuz your dad was a superstar before and now it your way to get a job? he might not like it as much as some of the fans are thinking. i respect his bro, tried the PBA but wanted to focus on other things. good.
i get that fans are disappointed with him. we dont normally get players as athletic as Kobe with height to match. but if the player isnt really into it, we should just let the guy be. if he isnt taking bball seriously, why should the fans take him (in the basketball context) seriously?

[Metta]

Same here bro. Kobe failing also left bitter taste in my mouth. The thing is, I think Kobe at 20 yrs old had a better shooting & handles than a 20-year old Francis Lopez (just my opinion).

Now as IPC has pointed out that some UAAP observers took notice of Lopez' suspect laterals to defend in the perimeter, if Lopez' laterals are not in the level of a Dwight Ramos, Calvin Oftana, Jamie Malonzo, or a Will Navarro, then I think he is not really a good Gilas prospect any sooner.

Lopez has a lot to work on his game. Good thing he's still young (well by Philippine basketball standards, 21 yrs. old is very young).

People have to realize that athleticism does not always equate to good defense/lateral speed.

Sometimes it exacerbates the problem. Being athletic can develop bad habits, like always going for steals or blocks. This leads to being off-balance (too much weight on the wrong foot/body angle). Fortunately, this type of problem is fixable.

I would say in terms of physical abilities, there is no reason for Lopez to be not as good as Ramos in terms of defense. The thing is, Ramos grew up with guys who are more athletic and faster than him so he is defensively disciplined and learned how to use angles/positioning. Lopez on the other hand grew up being head and shoulders above his comp in terms of size and athleticism so he just uses raw abilities.

Then there are those who can jump high but are just bad laterally, like Kobe P.

[Metta]

has anyone actually asked him, do you actually want to play bball? or you just doing it cuz your dad was a superstar before and now it your way to get a job? he might not like it as much as some of the fans are thinking. i respect his bro, tried the PBA but wanted to focus on other things. good.
i get that fans are disappointed with him. we dont normally get players as athletic as Kobe with height to match. but if the player isnt really into it, we should just let the guy be. if he isnt taking bball seriously, why should the fans take him (in the basketball context) seriously?

This is true. Sometimes, it's not even about love for the game. Some players are "too smart" (high IQ if you will) and they know that they can be exceptional at other things. They realize early on that hoops will not be enough for them long-term (especially when pba was the only option). They're just naturally good that they can play it up to usually college or a few years at pro. But they were never "ball is life" like guys who are obsessed with basketball, so those type of guys will overtake them in the pros.

[JAMSKIE]

People have to realize that athleticism does not always equate to good defense/lateral speed.

Sometimes it exacerbates the problem. Being athletic can develop bad habits, like always going for steals or blocks. This leads to being off-balance (too much weight on the wrong foot/body angle). Fortunately, this type of problem is fixable.

I would say in terms of physical abilities, there is no reason for Lopez to be not as good as Ramos in terms of defense. The thing is, Ramos grew up with guys who are more athletic and faster than him so he is defensively disciplined and learned how to use angles/positioning. Lopez on the other hand grew up being head and shoulders above his comp in terms of size and athleticism so he just uses raw abilities.

Then there are those who can jump high but are just bad laterally, like Kobe P.

Or talon lang ng talon going for the block which could result to the opponent going for the "pasabit" or mapepekian ng tira. Sounds familiar, right?

Very much agree with you bro, being athletic doesn't always translate to having good laterals. I think Japaeth Aguilar is more athletic than AJ Edu, but the later is the better defender becoz he has better laterals than the former & has the higher basketball I. Q.

Also, both Thirdy Ravena & Chris Newsome are athletic wings, but I think Newsome has the better laterals than Thirdy.

[CoJ]

Replace Kobe's face with Barroca and you get an all-Asia level-player. Hard to keep focusing on basketball with all these models and movie stars willingly spreading their legs for you.

Kobe P with Barroca's face = 3rdy on steroids

[ccharmed]

Does this kobep have a job or income earning business? He doesnt swem to have bothered to apply in the pba.

[CoJ]

Does this kobep have a job or income earning business? He doesnt swem to have bothered to apply in the pba.

Living off endorsement deals and dad's generational wealth

[ARMIR]

I dont think Justin Arana has the foot speed and laterals to be a good Gilas player for the World Cup but he can be servicable in the FIBA Asia level I believe. The thing I like about him is his good positioning and foot work on the post, I think Danny I has really helped him polish his post moves and we can see he has put in the work to improve his conditioning and strength.

Maybe he meanst like second tier player,for tournaments like SEA GAMES,Jones Cup or other non bearing tournaments,too small for the 5 and his skills are not FIBA level at the 4 spot either.

[ccharmed]

By now, we have 2 crown jewels for the nt: a young abdul jabbar in the kaiju, and a smaller mj in abando. But extra-capable players are still needed for global campaigns.

For euro and american adjustments, we need 2 very good combo forwards, as the sfs and pfs of the 2 power regions are very good. Gilas needs to slide down mobile bigs like edu and kouame to cover and reduce the effectiveness of sfs like doncic. None of the present local sfs -- who are okay nonetheless for the asian-only tournaments -- can neutralize the very consistent high contribution of doncic.. But this requires a rodman/ draymond type player at pf to help kai or fajardo shut down the paint area. Here, mike phillips, or something as robust and active as him, would be essential.

At world level, brownlee or clarkson are just the minimum quality for forwards.. Looking ahead, the extra duo sg/sf of clarkson and jalen g are needed to crash into the top20 rankings.

As it is now very obvious in the japan league, it is mediocre coaching and inferior team mates which had limited kai's plays. KSPs like midgetball coachot must never be allowed near nts again.

I now can laugh loudly at all those fools who posted in the kai thread about all the weaknesses of kai. Them dumbf*cks cant read players, or the fight in their eyes. And certainly very few can read dumbf*ck plays of coachot that can ruin any pinoy internationalist player.

[JAMSKIE]

With coach Tim Cone using the Iran national team of the mid-2000's to mid-2010's era as a model for his current Gilas team, I'd like to make a comparison of that Iran golden generation national team with the current Gilas team.

I think Iran's starting 5 of Haddadi, Samad Nikkah Bahrami, Mehdi Kamrani, Oshin Sahakian & Hamed Afagh is pretty solid.

At center, I'll give Haddadi a slight edge over Kai Sotto. At the four spot, I'll give Justin Brownlee a significant advantage over Sahakian. At small forward, Samad Bahrami obviously enjoys a significant edge over Dwight Ramos. I think CJ Perez & Afagh are just even at the 2-guard spot. I'll give Kamrani an edge over Iskati Thompson at the point guard position.

But it is the 2nd stingers where Gilas enjoys a significant edge over Iran. Guys like AJ Edu, Oftana, Junmar Fajardo, Quiambao, Tamayo, Newsome & Malonzo are good enough as starters. This is something that the Iranian national team didn't have. In a tournament proper, where each teams can play as many as 6 or 7 games depending on how far your team will go in the tournament, having dependable 2nd stingers is crucial.

I believe this current Gilas team possesses speed, versatility & flexibility. And it could no longer be outsized by most Asian teams. In fact perhaps only China will outsize us in all positions but definitely not that much.

[Metta]

We may have depth advantage against that Iran team, but that team had the added advantage of cohesion and chemistry. That team played together from teenage years until their retirement.

I've been stressing this forever, the next batch after this current Gilas batch where there are guys still in their teenage years can be special. Our 17-23 year old (which will have Kai, Edu, KQ and Carl as their leaders and probably throw in Dwight as the veteran) has the potential to be our golden generation.

There should be a parallel program to develop this batch with a 10-year plan. That's how you build a golden generation team like Iran.

[IPC]

We may have depth advantage against that Iran team, but that team had the added advantage of cohesion and chemistry. That team played together from teenage years until their retirement.

I've been stressing this forever, the next batch after this current Gilas batch where there are guys still in their teenage years can be special. Our 17-23 year old (which will have Kai, Edu, KQ and Carl as their leaders and probably throw in Dwight as the veteran) has the potential to be our golden generation.

There should be a parallel program to develop this batch with a 10-year plan. That's how you build a golden generation team like Iran.

Agreed. At least put guys like Bahay, Mason, Lopez, Caelum, Konov, Panopio (who's 24), Demisana, Gagate, and Pablo in a reserve team, whether B or C, or a separate U23 team to compete in Jones Cup like tournaments if invited.

Or alternatively, have a plan to slowly integrate younger players with high upside into the seniors.

[Metta]

Agreed. At least put guys like Bahay, Mason, Lopez, Caelum, Konov, Panopio (who's 24), Demisana, Gagate, and Pablo in a reserve team, whether B or C, or a separate U23 team to compete in Jones Cup like tournaments if invited.

Or alternatively, have a plan to slowly integrate younger players with high upside into the seniors.

I'm more for having a U23 team playing together asap. Throw them into the fire against vastly superior teams and let them lose now...it is a 10-year plan. The key is have them continuously developing together asap.

Have this in parallel with the current Gilas team.

[Metta]

I'm manifesting Mandaquit to be also part of this golden generation.

[r1ck]

Im actually intrigued at the possibility of Christian David being eligible for the national team. He is a tall 3 and D wing that could really fortify our wing rotation. And his recent play shows that he is legit and seems to have recovered from his injuries.