Future Big Men Of Philippine Basketball

[reamily]

Watching some game highlights of the 2021Afrobasket makes me realize the significance of good rim protectors. Actually most centers or bigs by these African teams aren't really that tall, wala namon halos silang 7-footer. But it is their ridiculous athleticism that makes them potent rim protectors. Most of these African teams aren't really that skilled, but they obviously have the size & athleticism.

That is why it is really crucial how Kai Sotto, Ange Kouame & AJ Edu would pan out. All of which have the potentials to become very good rim protectors. Hope AJ Edu's jumping ability & quickness are not diminished by the 2 ACL injuries he has sustained.

I think good rim protection is something we badly needed in the previous iterations of Gilas. Marcus Douthit was only 6-10 & he wasn't that athletic. Junmar is also 6-10 & isn't that athletic either. Japeth is very athletic but his lack of toughness & the tendency to bite fakes made him a less effective rim protector. It was Dray Blatche who exhibited good potential as a decent rim protector, but Blatche was overweight most of the time which limited his effectiveness.

I'm confident Kai, Kouame & Edu have significantly better potentials as decent rim protectors than Junmar, Douthit, Japeth & Blatche.

Yup what these athletic skill african teams is top notch playmaking and guard ay. No wonder why Tunisia is excelling in Africa.. solido yun nga guards nila and they well coached.. paulit ulit lang yun pick and roll play nina Mejri kahapon na di ma solve ng cape verde..

[interxavierxxx]

Man, West was a tough SOB, same as Z-Bo. He was the tough guy for Indiana when he was there. He was also a great scoring option in NOLA and Indiana due to his skill and strength in the post. Good midrange shot too. Not that athletic, but strong and skilled, like I said.

Diaw survived more due to his versatility. Could shoot, drive, handle, and pass well for a big. He could pass well, period, probably better than Joakim Noah. A bit of a proto-Jokić. He had a nice post game to bully smaller defenders. Man, he exploited his versatility really nicely.

These two players, our 6'7"-6'8" bigs have a good chance of replicating.

Also helps that West does MMA.

[alfrancis]

I saw a take that Limpot had the ability to play 3. Man, he and Kerby Raymundo might have been able to play small-ball 4 in this current era of basketball.

A 6'6"-6'8" Dennis Espino is feasible, like what sir DAdmiral said. Tough, strong, not that athletic, but a skilled post player and can play both big positions.

Espino is a legit 6'6. I consider him the most valuable player of the centennial team. A 6'9 of his caliber is a dream for Gilas.

[IPC]

What if a big like Standhardinger produces wins? He's not a post-up big. He actually gets his through faceup drives, putbacks, cuts, and drop-off passes. He's kind of a cross between an traditional big and a perimeter-oriented big. He's a natural PF, so that helps.

He might be a guy our young 6'6"-6'8" bigs could emulate offensively.

OK, so the natural PF part applies only on offense, but on defense, he really is a 5, and only a low-post guy at that. He struggles when switched onto the perimeter. Right now, the 5 is the only position for him, but he has the skillset of a small-ball 5.

Man, Ginebra's struggling to integrate him.

I still hope that our 6'7"-6'8" bigs would be able to play both the traditional 4 and the small-ball 5 like Standhardinger, but also that our future bigs don't have his struggles on defense.

[IPC]

Espino is a legit 6'6. I consider him the most valuable player of the centennial team. A 6'9 of his caliber is a dream for Gilas.

Tough interior defender, skilled post player, and able to play both 4 and 5. A 6'9" version of that would be a dream, but a guy that size would be good enough for center, and a 6'9" center is not bad internationally, even better if he has Espino's skillset and caliber.

Still, I think a 6'7"-6'8" Espino would be fine at the 4. I hope that guy can legitimately play the 4 in this era.

[ARMIR]

A long time ago,posters here including I,thought that by this time we're all gonna see a dozen 6'8-6'9 guys as athletic or better Japhet Aguilar clones.We are producing more 6'8 or taller guys but that heignt is now still as athletic as JA.At least now we're starting to see more guys above 6'2 and even 6'5 will play guard and the standard height for the 3 position is 6'6 or above.One look at Geo who at 6'10 is just slightly athletic than Junmar and the rest of guys with similar height or taller are the same.

[C2Hamm]

A long time ago,posters here including I,thought that by this time we're all gonna see a dozen 6'8-6'9 guys as athletic or better Japhet Aguilar clones.We are producing more 6'8 or taller guys but that heignt is now still as athletic as JA.At least now we're starting to see more guys above 6'2 and even 6'5 will play guard and the standard height for the 3 position is 6'6 or above.One look at Geo who at 6'10 is just slightly athletic than Junmar and the rest of guys with similar height or taller are the same.

where would these kids be coming from? JA is more of an exception rather than the rule. won't it be more achievable to hope that there would be taller kids, but play differently that it works with their physical gifts and not fans thinking they'll play like our favorite NBA players or players we watch at the highest FIBA games?

[BJ_Reloaded]

As my wishful thinking all along, a two or three 6’8 – 6’9 version of a Freddie Abuda and Nic Belasco and hopefully two 6’6 – 6’7 version of a Rip Hamilton and a Klay Thompson is a dream come true if the purpose is to play for the medal round on 2027 and beyond…Good thing coach Jong was part of coach TB’s coaching staff because he knows how valuable those first two I mentioned in a team moving forward.

[tomcat]

As my wishful thinking all along, a two or three 6’8 – 6’9 version of a Freddie Abuda and Nic Belasco and hopefully two 6’6 – 6’7 version of a Rip Hamilton and a Klay Thompson is a dream come true if the purpose is to play for the medal round on 2027 and beyond…Good thing coach Jong was part of coach TB’s coaching staff because he knows how valuable those first two I mentioned in a team moving forward.

two or three 6’8 – 6’9 version of a Freddie Abuda and Nic Belasco;
- AJ Edu
- Caelum Harris
- Mason Amos

and hopefully two 6’6 – 6’7 version of a Rip Hamilton and a Klay Thompson;
- Jayden Harper
- Femi Edu
- CJ Amos
- Francis Lopez

[BJ_Reloaded]

two or three 6’8 – 6’9 version of a Freddie Abuda and Nic Belasco;
- AJ Edu
- Caelum Harris
- Mason Amos

and hopefully two 6’6 – 6’7 version of a Rip Hamilton and a Klay Thompson;
- Jayden Harper
- Femi Edu
- CJ Amos
- Francis Lopez

Yup Sir Tom..how I wish those kids maximize their true potentials and become ballers we are longing for..imagine your role player has a decent outside shooting, those so called piso-piso shot of Abuda/Bel asco during the late 90’s version of SMB is really a site to behold. Those intangibles or out of the basketball statistics are the key to be successful internationally and those players are the epitome of what I’m saying, then when you put a two way player like a Rip Hamilton and a Klay Thompson who doesn’t have an off night in the defensive end. Wow it’s a dandy if we play the US dream team, the Greak Freak and his team, the Espanyoles, the Les Bleus, the Boomers among others because they are very much bothered by the Gilas defense, it’s intangibles, it’s very consistent piso-piso shot and the continuous grinding all game long, now, If that’s the Basketball Philosophy of the Gilas team then we truly deserve playing in the medal rounds when that time comes.

[live_evil]

Moderators please banish that idiot Naga852. Spamming virus

[IPC]

While it's good to have a sterch 4 or combo forward like Baltazar.
I'm wondering how feasible is it to develop an athletic 6'7 /6'8 active defensive though big like a Rodman? Or a 6 7 Ping to me is a missing piece for Gilas, we lack the thoughness.

Man, I really hope we get a 6'6"-6'7" version of Ping. I'm fine if that guy is less athletic, so long as he is quick enough to guard opposing PFs.

As for stretch fours, the role is not exactly mutually exclusive with tough defensive big, and vice versa. Rasheed Wallace, for one. Here, we have Nic Belasco. But it is rare to see someone do well in both roles.

[IPC]

i think he (they) meant more of a player's developmental coach; Alvin training big men and the likes.

It's a bit sad that we are not able to produce the prototypical 90s PF anymore-- Patrimonio and Asaytono type of scorers and/or skill set. When was the last time we saw these kind of big men? RDO is of that dying breed but after him there's no one in the PBA who falls in this category.

Patrimonio was a 6'3 player with Kevin McHale's post moves, loved getting his points with his back to the basket. Remember watching a game on TV where he did a 180 dunk. He only added an outside shot to his arsenal towards the latter part of his career which coincided with the arrivals of the bigger fil-ams.

As for the topic of a big man coach for these young ones, assuming they reach a height of at least 6'9, I'd give my vote to Kerby Raymundo. In case it's imperative for these kids are to be trained as big men at their current height of 6'7, it might be more wise to develop them into Paul Millsap/Amare Stoudemire types. At least they can still make it to the next level even if they stop growing. I don't think we have a potential local big man coach whose game is similar to them though.

If our bigs train for even one window, it will greatly improve their play and may unlock skills they never knew they had. And they might be able to play the 4, which again, is the best position for them if they want to dominate the post. For Demisana and Salvoro, hell even 3 (based on the skill videos).

Our bigs will be our greatest asset in Gilas, at least in Asian basketball. It's good that bigman play was never set aside here in the Philippines. Now if we make most of our tall bigs able to play the 4, they can still play big internationally.

It would be nice to have some 6'7"-6'8" big with Alvin Patrimonio's skillset and could play the 4.

a 6'8 Patrimonio would at least be in the Euroleague.

Man, I really hope we get a 6'6"-6'8" version of Alvin Patrimonio. Patrimonio is the dream big for me, at least from the 4 spot. Strong presence in the low block on both ends, great hustler, a bit athletic (he could dunk) but not that athletic, good midrange shot (which he successfully extended to the 3-point area later on), great leader.

[Rodbi]

Man, I really hope we get a 6'6"-6'8" version of Alvin Patrimonio. Patrimonio is the dream big for me, at least from the 4 spot. Strong presence in the low block on both ends, great hustler, a bit athletic (he could dunk) but not that athletic, good midrange shot (which he successfully extended to the 3-point area later on), great leader.

Maybe it's just me but don't we already have that type in Carl Tamayo?

[alfrancis]

Maybe it's just me but don't we already have that type in Carl Tamayo?

Man, if we have Carl Tamayo during Patrimonio's era is a monster. I imagine him toying around Codinera, Realubit and other bigmen. PF's like Patrimonio, Asaytono, Alvin Teng, Dignadice would be way undersized for him.