FIBA ASIA Cup Qualifiers

[Sikatrix]

How would you guys evaluate Newsome on his last stint? Is he a really better option than Bolick or Parks or any of the Ravena Bros?

It looks like Cone is prioritizing tall lineups and defensive flexibility. The other PG is Iskati who is 6'1".

[Rds]

How would you guys evaluate Newsome on his last stint? Is he a really better option than Bolick or Parks or any of the Ravena Bros?

I see him more of as a defensive undersized SF. He has good handles but his 3 pt shot might not be accurate at times. At around 6'2 he is a bit small for SF but he has proven he can defend athletic SFs. His admirable defense on RHJ in the Asiad is proof of that. He was the best local of the Asiad finals. His role is different from Bolick. His defense is way better than Parks at this point. He is similar to Thirdy but seems a bit taller and a bit better all-around as again proven in his performance in the Asiad.

[Rds]

It looks like Cone is prioritizing tall lineups and defensive flexibility. The other PG is Iskati who is 6'1".

I think TC is playing with fire here. Scottie is his only PG and has not really been effective in the Fiba worlds. It might be TC wants his SFs to do some playmaking. He is similar to Tab in this way. Tab's Gilas didn't really rely much on SJ or RJ for playmaking. Virtually all of the players could initiate the offense.

[thatweirdguy]

I think TC is playing with fire here. Scottie is his only PG and has not really been effective in the Fiba worlds. It might be TC wants his SFs to do some playmaking. He is similar to Tab in this way. Tab's Gilas didn't really rely much on SJ or RJ for playmaking. Virtually all of the players could initiate the offense.

I'm in the same camp. We just saw how the lack of decent PG ruined SGAs championship bid. Scottie IMO might be better playing off the bench but then again maybe he'll do just fine in this level.

[hmbopbaduwap]

Brownlee's suspension expected to be lifted on February 8.

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba/sbp-on-retroactive-three-month-suspension-on-justin-brownlee-a6872-20240130?utm_source=Facebook-Spin&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240130-fbnp-basketball-sbp-on-retroactive-three-month-suspension-on-justin-brownlee-a6872-20240130-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR1wPBgnUjkw9pAhxU0AFjtF-85sWAzRpvIdTy0s3r2PLHxcpqKYtjavU3E

[IPC]

I think TC is playing with fire here. Scottie is his only PG and has not really been effective in the Fiba worlds. It might be TC wants his SFs to do some playmaking. He is similar to Tab in this way. Tab's Gilas didn't really rely much on SJ or RJ for playmaking. Virtually all of the players could initiate the offense.

I'm in the same camp. We just saw how the lack of decent PG ruined SGAs championship bid. Scottie IMO might be better playing off the bench but then again maybe he'll do just fine in this level.

Same thoughts on Scottie. I think his skillset serves him better as a backup in this level.

[IPC]

i wonder if sbp has a contingency in case Jb is a no go,

https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba/sbp-on-retroactive-three-month-suspension-on-justin-brownlee-a6872-20240130?utm_source=Facebook-Spin&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240130-fbnp-basketball-sbp-on-retroactive-three-month-suspension-on-justin-brownlee-a6872-20240130-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR2WO4XvIqVz800iXlMJBfV1-uDWxWg_sNnSZdi9tpmymIAHl4BcpvSUopM_aem_AQN2UyKfvqd rWLpsQMxK6nN5WSoSJsRYJVdHmYjB1gYa9Vrj9P6tRrmYh9AHY XI_PhU

In that same article, Atty. Dy said that “Coach Tim has to make a decision whether we are just going to go with 11 players or he fills that in with a replacement player for this window.”

Cone said that we'll go with 11 until AJ gets healthy because he wants AJ to be a part of it. While I understand the long-term, we still need a temporary replacement for him. We can still make AJ a part of it by making him watch practice.

[Giannis34GOD]

In that same article, Atty. Dy said that “Coach Tim has to make a decision whether we are just going to go with 11 players or he fills that in with a replacement player for this window.”

Cone said that we'll go with 11 until AJ gets healthy because he wants AJ to be a part of it. While I understand the long-term, we still need a temporary replacement for him. We can still make AJ a part of it by making him watch practice.

This window, I don’t care even if we don’t have NP.. we can beat HK anyday, any night, w/o a sweat… against Taipei, the best guys there are Artino, Abbassi, Ray Chen and Jeremy Lin’s younger brother.. Junmar can match up against Artino while Malonzo or Oftana will match up vs Abbassi.. we have advantage on size since they don’t have a match up against Kai and Tamayo… Taipei’s style is always run and gun then shooting, CTC knows how to stop them, since he’s already familiar with Taipei’s game… we will beat Taiwanese maybe by 6-8 pts atleast…

[alfrancis]

Arent everyone aware that we might have 10 players for feb window? Edu still recovering and brownlee still questionable. And cone only announce 12?

Really We're off to a good start with this..

If Edu is not available I would prefer Kouame to be the NP, thereby maintaining 4 bigs (including Tamayo).

[Rds]

If Edu is not available I would prefer Kouame to be the NP, thereby maintaining 4 bigs (including Tamayo).

Having no Edu or Kouame will always be a challenge defensively. Although having JB does help and Kai should be a better rim protector than JMF. I am also curious if JMF's seemingly improved defense this conference will translate to Fiba.

For the middle of the year though I am not sure how ready AJ will be. It seems he needs to load managed for the rest of his career. But it seems his B league team is bent on recouping his salary by giving him big minutes.

[IPC]

If this window is really easy, can we do it without an NP?

If Brownlee can't be available, I think we can use a strong all-local lineup for this window. We'll sacrifice defense, though, so we'll need firepower.

[paolylo]

They are not looking for OQT, these qualifiers and OQT will be part of their preparations for 2027… don’t expect CTC will go all out at OQT in July…

See, the problem is that 2027 is NOT guaranteed. Why?:

• Hosting it was the only reason Gilas made it last year. Under normal circumstances, I can think of at least 10 Asian countries that are just as capable of hosting the World Cup if they were willing to spend for it... that's just in Asia, what about the other continents? Also, what if Korea didn't back out while all the hosts had to earn their spot? Korea is miles better than Saudi, India, Bahrain, and Kazakhstan so it's between us, them, Jordan, Iran, and Japan that could have gotten knocked out. MVP's money was the only reason why Gilas made the World Cup.
• If you even remember 2019... Yeng Guiao's team of Chot's leftovers from the brawl (plus a few more) had to beat Kazakhstan in Astana to beat Lebanon (who had a harder final group with NZ, Korea, Jordan, and China) for the final Asian slot, how they actually fared was indicative of their actual quality regardless of how Guiao feels about qualifying. Last place was in fact a fair result based on results alone.
• Even during 2014 when FIBA went by just the Continental Cups (ABC Championship/FIBA Asia Cup), Lebanon was supposed to host it in 2013 if not for the Arab Spring before it went to Manila and it took a miracle/curse break/chamba/the team suddenly forgetting how to play and just relied on making tough contested baskets against Korea (who were actually grouped with Iran and China in the prelims) to make it back to the World Cup since 1978.... when the team went 0-5.

Hasn't anyone learned from the last 2 cycles? When you say "preparations for 2027", they won't even make to 2027 if they lose World Cup Qualifying games in 2025 and not get past the first round where there won't be an odd team out like Hong Kong next month. Gilas could be drawn with either Australia/New Zealand, Japan/China, and Korea/Taipei/a much better Indonesia... let's say they only finish 3rd and barely make it to the second round... there should only be 4 countries in the West region between 2026 and the last window in 2027 capable of beating Gilas... if there would be more, it becomes that much harder.

The idea has always been produce results because of/in spite of the lack of preparation. Gilas isn't the only country with prep and player availability issues. Even changing the coach should be inconsequential if the selection of players and how they want to play isn't too extremely far off.

FIBA Asia Qualifiers - steal the home game against New Zealand, let the OFW's feed the energy in the away games. avoid 3rd place at all costs.
FIBA OQT - stealing a game in the group and being in a dogfight against Brazil/Montenegro should be the goal.
FIBA Asia - aim for the semis. top 4 in Asia means being capable of beating teams away from home in World Cup Qualifying
World Cup Qualifiers 1st Round - win all home games, steal at least one away game. 4W 2L is a safe bet.
SEA Games - infuse the team with FIBA-ineligible Fil-Ams and hopefully JB's replacement (if not Kouame) and make it another gold or bust situation
World Cup Qualifiers 2nd round - anything less than 3 wins is disastrous. For sure, there will be OFW's in the Middle East in those tough away games
Asian Games - bring the same people from the SEA Games and aim for the gold medal game.
World Cup - advance to the next round and be the best finishing Asian team.
Olympics - don't get blown out by 30.

[Giannis34GOD]

See, the problem is that 2027 is NOT guaranteed. Why?:

• Hosting it was the only reason Gilas made it last year. Under normal circumstances, I can think of at least 10 Asian countries that are just as capable of hosting the World Cup if they were willing to spend for it... that's just in Asia, what about the other continents? Also, what if Korea didn't back out while all the hosts had to earn their spot? Korea is miles better than Saudi, India, Bahrain, and Kazakhstan so it's between us, them, Jordan, Iran, and Japan that could have gotten knocked out. MVP's money was the only reason why Gilas made the World Cup.
• If you even remember 2019... Yeng Guiao's team of Chot's leftovers from the brawl (plus a few more) had to beat Kazakhstan in Astana to beat Lebanon (who had a harder final group with NZ, Korea, Jordan, and China) for the final Asian slot, how they actually fared was indicative of their actual quality regardless of how Guiao feels about qualifying. Last place was in fact a fair result based on results alone.
• Even during 2014 when FIBA went by just the Continental Cups (ABC Championship/FIBA Asia Cup), Lebanon was supposed to host it in 2013 if not for the Arab Spring before it went to Manila and it took a miracle/curse break/chamba/the team suddenly forgetting how to play and just relied on making tough contested baskets against Korea (who were actually grouped with Iran and China in the prelims) to make it back to the World Cup since 1978.... when the team went 0-5.

Hasn't anyone learned from the last 2 cycles? When you say "preparations for 2027", they won't even make to 2027 if they lose World Cup Qualifying games in 2025 and not get past the first round where there won't be an odd team out like Hong Kong next month. Gilas could be drawn with either Australia/New Zealand, Japan/China, and Korea/Taipei/a much better Indonesia... let's say they only finish 3rd and barely make it to the second round... there should only be 4 countries in the West region between 2026 and the last window in 2027 capable of beating Gilas... if there would be more, it becomes that much harder.

The idea has always been produce results because of/in spite of the lack of preparation. Gilas isn't the only country with prep and player availability issues. Even changing the coach should be inconsequential if the selection of players and how they want to play isn't too extremely far off.

FIBA Asia Qualifiers - steal the home game against New Zealand, let the OFW's feed the energy in the away games. avoid 3rd place at all costs.
FIBA OQT - stealing a game in the group and being in a dogfight against Brazil/Montenegro should be the goal.
FIBA Asia - aim for the semis. top 4 in Asia means being capable of beating teams away from home in World Cup Qualifying
World Cup Qualifiers 1st Round - win all home games, steal at least one away game. 4W 2L is a safe bet.
SEA Games - infuse the team with FIBA-ineligible Fil-Ams and hopefully JB's replacement (if not Kouame) and make it another gold or bust situation
World Cup Qualifiers 2nd round - anything less than 3 wins is disastrous. For sure, there will be OFW's in the Middle East in those tough away games
Asian Games - bring the same people from the SEA Games and aim for the gold medal game.
World Cup - advance to the next round and be the best finishing Asian team.
Olympics - don't get blown out by 30.

This era under CTC will be different than other predecessors... I think CTC knows what happened to the past coaches who are struggling because they have to find out how they will balance the PBA and Gilas schedule w/o disturbing PBA calendar... Thus, CTC already announced who are players will be his tenure under 4 year program... Yes, we still need atleast 3 reserve players... But those 12 men who were picked will be the core until 2027 under CTC... If you look at the current strength of our Asia/Pacific rivals, We have the chance to qualify again.. Why? Iran, Korea and China are under rebuilding stages, Japan will have to deal w/o their NBA guys most of the qualifiers to qualify to 2027 FIBA WC, So it will hard for them too... I will put Australia, Lebanon, NZL, Japan and Philippines are the favorites to qualify, while Jordan will be the 6th team, If RHJ and their core are healthy, Last spot will be up for grabs for Iran, Korea and China (Maybe China will get that last spot if they get better naturalized player) .. CTC prove us all wrong last Asian Games, Are you still doubting CTC's abilities? We doubt if Ginebra can beat Bay Area, but CTC made us wrong, We also doubt CTC and Gilas crew last Asian games, we are all wrong too... Now, maybe we have to trust CTC and his plans... He knows what he is doing and for our team... Let's trust from now... His plan is to qualify for 2028 LA Olympics... As for SEAG and Asian Games, CTC might create a team mostly ineligibles...

[C2Hamm]

This era under CTC will be different than other predecessors...

love the confidence. the coaching staff isnt even complete yet but you are already assuring the fans it will be different.

[paolylo]

This era under CTC will be different than other predecessors... I think CTC knows what happened to the past coaches who are struggling because they have to find out how they will balance the PBA and Gilas schedule w/o disturbing PBA calendar... Thus, CTC already announced who are players will be his tenure under 4 year program... Yes, we still need atleast 3 reserve players... But those 12 men who were picked will be the core until 2027 under CTC... If you look at the current strength of our Asia/Pacific rivals, We have the chance to qualify again.. Why? Iran, Korea and China are under rebuilding stages, Japan will have to deal w/o their NBA guys most of the qualifiers to qualify to 2027 FIBA WC, So it will hard for them too... I will put Australia, Lebanon, NZL, Japan and Philippines are the favorites to qualify, while Jordan will be the 6th team, If RHJ and their core are healthy, Last spot will be up for grabs for Iran, Korea and China (Maybe China will get that last spot if they get better naturalized player) .. CTC prove us all wrong last Asian Games, Are you still doubting CTC's abilities? We doubt if Ginebra can beat Bay Area, but CTC made us wrong, We also doubt CTC and Gilas crew last Asian games, we are all wrong too... Now, maybe we have to trust CTC and his plans... He knows what he is doing and for our team... Let's trust from now... His plan is to qualify for 2028 LA Olympics... As for SEAG and Asian Games, CTC might create a team mostly ineligibles...

Even I know how to balance the PBA & Gilas schedule. Just free up the Western summer months between late July and mid August... but guess what's supposed to be on during those months? The PBA All-Filipino Conference (which is still on now because of the PBA only having 2 conferences).

So what happens in 2027? Another special season where the PBA shortens the league again? Do we go full-1998/2010 and have Gilas play as a guest team in the Commissioners Cup? Speaking of which, what happens in 2026 when the Asian Games takes place betwen mid-September and early October? Whatever it is, the schedule has to revolve around those three months being dedicated to a major tournament whether it's FIBA Asia Cup (2025), the World Cup, (2027) or the Olympics (2028).

Even that doesn't solve everything because of year-round qualifying windows in Feb, July for the OQT, Nov, Jun of the following year, (btw, insert the SEA Games in Dec where KQ will be playing in the UAAP instead of this) and if they make it to the 2nd round of World Cup Qualifying, it runs smack through the Commissioners Cup in Sept, late Nov to early Dec, (cross fingers KQ is already in Japan and doesn't prolong his UAAP stay) and Feb again in two years, which will only mess up one week of that year's Governor's Cup.

It's only the B-League players that will be available all throughout with their FIBA clause... so if you're looking at a core, for now that's Sotto, Edu, Ramos, KQ, and Tamayo if he found another team in Japan. All the PBA players have to adjust playing a different FIBA game, and so will CTC, who I NEVER doubted... which brings me to the elephant in the room: a soon-to-be 39-year old Justin Brownlee. Take Brownlee out of CTC's Asian Games team, Cone looks like just another Chot. They don't beat China if JB didn't decide to go 1 on 5 and explode.

I understand the group will just be together for those two games against Taiwan and Hong Kong... but moving forward, they have to consider the possibilty of losing players to injury or the off-chance that someone in the PBA or the other leagues plays so well to earn a chance of a call-up to a window or even a tournament just like how KQ did in Dubai. Let the SBP decide when to use Kouame, JC, or even naturalize another player. If they somehow pull this off, I can even see the team going as high as 3rd in Asia. If the PBA f***s it up for Gilas, I don't even see us advancing in the 2nd round of World Cup Qualifying and you can forget 2027.