Philippines Senior National Team Thread Vol. V

[IPC]

Our interior defense is screwed w/o Edu

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Yeah, so we'll have to see if Kai develops his interior defense. Otherwise, we will need either a defensive local big or a defensive-minded NP who can partner with Kai and help him defend the paint. At this point, AJ's injury-prone and will sit out games for us.

Or, rely on perimeter defense to prevent our bigs from getting involved. Our only reliable locals on that end are Scottie (who turns 31 after the OQT), Newsome (who turns 34 next month), Dwight, Navarro (who's not in the pool), and maybe Lopez and Bayla. CJ, though good on passing lanes, is not a good man defender and is undisciplined on rotations. Oftana regressed on his man defense, and Malonzo is more of a help defender than a man defender at this point (man defense is important for full-time wings).

[Silent Killer]

coach tim should invite hepa..

[IPC]

This is the reason why you have a pool. Some get injured or play subpar, others can step up. Now we see Cones fixation on just 12 is BS. It’s just a way to exclude other deserving players from the pool. Now what if Scottie, CJ, Mason and Japeth suck? Will he again add to the pool? Saying his initial 12 was the best we have was BS. It is the best SMC has and it might probably be not enough.

people are quick to defend about cone’s munting pool now when everyone is harping for bigger pool some people changes their tone about this..

As for the pool, we're lacking a few pieces. A defensive big in case AJ's out (which we don't have much of among the locals; Carino could be an option, though), a defensive wing (Dwight's our only defensive wing so far; Navarro, Lopez, Harris, and Bayla come to mind), and shooting (which Cone doesn't really emphasize; we do have Malonzo, Carl, maybe KQ and Oftana for that).

I think I was advocating for reserves in the past, but it was more of a succession plan. A reserve pool for JB, June Mar, Japeth, Newsome due to age, and a backup defensive big in case AJ gets injured after JB retires, and a go-to guy.

[JAMSKIE]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^
From the get go, my ideal number of Gilas pool members is 16 to 18 players. I felt 12 or 13 players making up the pool is just too small a pool. I never liked a big pool either (20 players or more) as it would be more difficult to develop cohesion with a big pool.

[IPC]

Because Boatwright is not yet naturalized

Brownlee has been announced as the NP long before any talk of naturalizing Boatwright.

Brownlee is old but still servicable but getting Boatwirght makes sense since it wont surprise me if father time catches up at anytime.

They'll play the same role of go-to guy. The difference is JB's edge in playmaking and defense.

Bennie's deficiencies on defense are concerning, though (poor man-to-man defense, sometimes late on rotations), considering the composition of the local contingent.

In the interior, we will need Kai to improve on defense, and for AJ to be healthy to compensate for that. Carl and Quiambao are better off as system defenders. We will need a good defensive local big to succeed June Mar.

Additionally, we will need some more perimeter defenders apart from Scottie, Dwight, and Newsome. Oftana, though a good rebounder, gets blown by on defense. CJ, though he has a high motor and is good in passing lanes, gets blown by on defense (we saw that against Newsome and Banchero, and in the series before that) and gets lost on rotations. Newsome is 35.

If we can't add additional defensive players, we will have to outshoot opponents. Honestly, again, that is a game plan I do not trust, as it has blown up in our faces in the past because our offense couldn't make up for piss-poor defense (SoKor and Lebanon in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, Kazakhstan in the December 2018 window, Indonesia in the 2022 SEA Games, entire 2022 FIBA Asia Cup).

[IPC]

Here you go

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba/brownlee-back-for-oqt-as-edu-malonzo-out-of-gilas-a793-20240618?utm_source=Facebook-Spin&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240618-fbnp-basketball-brownlee-back-for-oqt-as-edu-malonzo-out-of-gilas-a793-20240618-fbfirst&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0sAPyvkXg63lkU8 ZFj8_SxQwFEBfV_fV3tFvG-1xGB0VEU-DfI3sOfLig_aem_n-ErZPcb-kL65M71CeGBVg

speaking of iskati

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba/scottie-thompson-ruled-out-of-gilas-campaign-in-latvia-oqt-a795-20240621?utm_source=Facebook-Spin&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240621-fbnp-basketball-scottie-thompson-ruled-out-of-gilas-campaign-in-latvia-oqt-a795-20240621-fbnew&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1uFDw_vnj16hC5oK9 6uTGRHnobYvJIE2JzziSMk-YIIUC_Jd2X8wRanXU_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Basketball gods is sending signs to coach tim to add more players to the pool.. will coach tim continue to be stubborn?

Yep, we'll need more players in the pool.

We have two players who are capable of playing the 1 in Newsome and Scottie. CJ's not that capable, he's a 2. Otherwise, we'll rely on JB's playmaking again. But then again, Cone runs a system offense not requiring a playmaker. It only requires an initiator.

AJ's the bigger loss. As I say again and again, the current pool doesn't have anyone capable of replicating his impact on defense. We need a backup defensive big just in case.

[DenzelGreat8]

Yep, we'll need more players in the pool.

We have two players who are capable of playing the 1 in Newsome and Scottie. CJ's not that capable, he's a 2. Otherwise, we'll rely on JB's playmaking again. But then again, Cone runs a system offense not requiring a playmaker. It only requires an initiator.

AJ's the bigger loss. As I say again and again, the current pool doesn't have anyone capable of replicating his impact on defense. We need a backup defensive big just in case.

Grabe naman, are they not allowed to replace injured players? It's not like Scottie does not have this lingering issue since last month. Bolick is the most logical replacement or at the very least, get Terrence Romeo if Tim Cone is vouching for familiarity since Terrence already trained for him last Asian games.

[IPC]

Grabe naman, are they not allowed to replace injured players? It's not like Scottie does not have this lingering issue since last month. Bolick is the most logical replacement or at the very least, get Terrence Romeo if Tim Cone is vouching for familiarity since Terrence already trained for him last Asian games.

Cone named only 12 players to his pool from 2024 to the 2028 Olympics in Feb. Added Japeth and Mason later in case of injuries to bigs. Just 14 in the pool.

Cone's concern with changing players is chemistry.

[reamily]

Cone named only 12 players to his pool from 2024 to the 2028 Olympics in Feb. Added Japeth and Mason later in case of injuries to bigs. Just 14 in the pool.

Cone's concern with changing players is chemistry.

and fans unrealistic expectations.. (why is payer x not selected or what)

[Rds]

Cone named only 12 players to his pool from 2024 to the 2028 Olympics in Feb. Added Japeth and Mason later in case of injuries to bigs. Just 14 in the pool.

Cone's concern with changing players is chemistry.

Scottie has been bad in the PBA. It was against Meralco. But still a former MVP and a Gilas member should be better. Perez had some good games. But Scottie has been generally bad. Don’t we have other tall guard options?

I think we will see how our players perform in the next games. If there are players that outright suck and there are clear alternatives not in the pool I expect Cone and SMC to feel the pressure.

The reason why you have more than 12 is not just for injuries. It is because the PBA game is far from Fiba. Perez can dominate the PBA but he has been like a headless chicken in Fiba. Good thing Meralco’s there to show in the PBA his weaknesses.

You get a bigger pool because our brand of ball is far from Fiba level. There are guys who might not be as good in the PBA but may be more useful in Fiba like say Navarro. You have a pool so you see who can develop better to be more useful in the Fiba games. If we really look bad in the next games I expect Cone et al to feel the pressure. No amount of chemistry will be helpful if guys dont adapt to the Fiba game.

[IPC]

Scottie has been bad in the PBA. It was against Meralco. But still a former MVP and a Gilas member should be better. Perez had some good games. But Scottie has been generally bad. Don’t we have other tall guard options?

I think we will see how our players perform in the next games. If there are players that outright suck and there are clear alternatives not in the pool I expect Cone and SMC to feel the pressure.

The reason why you have more than 12 is not just for injuries. It is because the PBA game is far from Fiba. Perez can dominate the PBA but he has been like a headless chicken in Fiba. Good thing Meralco’s there to show in the PBA his weaknesses.

You get a bigger pool because our brand of ball is far from Fiba level. There are guys who might not be as good in the PBA but may be more useful in Fiba like say Navarro. You have a pool so you see who can develop better to be more useful in the Fiba games. If we really look bad in the next games I expect Cone et al to feel the pressure. No amount of chemistry will be helpful if guys dont adapt to the Fiba game.

This 14 has holes. Sir Tuck mentioned some: size in the wings, shooting, defense, and good playmaking.

I think defense is a major concern. In the pool, we have four reliable defenders in Scottie, Newsome, AJ, and JB. Newsome turns 34 next month, Scottie turns 31 next month, and JB's 36. Japeth's not really an anchor, June Mar is BBQ chicken in PnR and has compensated only through his scoring and rebounding. CJ's strength on defense is passing lanes, but he got attacked repeatedly by Newsome and Banchero in the PBA Finals last week, with good success. Oftana has regressed on defense, he's getting blown by more easily in the PBA. I project Carl and Quiambao to be better off as system defenders who can switch, not really game-changers on that end. A lot of pressure on Kai to improve on that end (hopefully he does before JB retires).

I don't know if we can trust a gameplan without a defense. I personally don't, because historically, we haven't performed well when our defense was bad because no matter how good our offense was, it couldn't make up for piss-poor defense. SoKor and Lebanon in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, Kazakhstan in the December 2018 window, Indonesia in the 2022 SEA Games, the entire 2022 FIBA Asia Cup are examples.

Now, as for the pool, yes, we need players who better fit in FIBA. Wing defenders (Navarro), shooters (Heading), interior defenders (Carino, maybe Balti), maybe some initiators. Frankly, I'll just hope they're added to an expanded pool, who will succeed to the 12 if there's injury or retirement.

[Giannis34GOD]

It doesn't take a genius to know that injuries here & there as well as inavailability of players for whatever reason/s are normal. They happen all the time, hence it is vital to maintain enough No. of players in a pool/team. I think the ideal No. is 16 players. Para sa akin, hindi rin maganda yung subrang dami ng players like 22 or more.

Take for instance the situation of Gilas in the 1st window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last Feb., AJ Edu wasnt able to suit up becoz of injury. Then in the coming OQT, both Edu & Jamie Malonzo will not play becoz of injuries. I hope Iskati would be able to play.

Even weak teams such as Indonesia, Thailand or Hong Kong have their pool atleast 16 players, They know that not all players are fit playing basketball... Even Alas Pilipinas have larger pool of players after adding Galanza, Solomon and Belen..

[Giannis34GOD]

RR Pogoy for Scottie?

https://tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/roger-pogoy-joins-gilas-camp-at-inspire/305603

[IPC]

RR Pogoy for Scottie?

https://tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/r...inspire/305603

Why would we call back a 32-year-old who has had a history of being unreliable for Gilas?

His assets are shooting and shot creation. Thing is, he's shot 26.4% from 3 in FIBA (although he did shoot 33% last World Cup), and his defense is suspect.

[IPC]

Pogoy is one example that sure he's playing good in PBA doesnt mean it warrants a Gilas call up and expect the same performance. We've seen countless times on pogoy. People don't learn on suggesting players.. and now people suggesting stockton?

I'm suggesting Mamu because his point-of-attack defense can translate. Stockton's a pretty good defender too.

Now people are suggesting Justin Arana despite the fact that he exclusively plays center, and he's 6'7" in shoes with a 6'9" wingspan.

I remember suggesting Arvin Tolentino because he's a 6'5" wing and getting told off by sir DenzelGreat8 because of that. Now, I find myself agreeing because Arvin's more of a volume shooter and a defensive liability, and defense is more important than scoring at the 3 if you won't be a star in FIBA. So I find myself wishing for Navarro, Lopez, Caelum, Konov, and Bayla at the wing instead because they're better defenders.