CHRIS Newsome is tipped to step up to gain the playmaking chores in the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will play in the FIBA World Cup. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FIBA
With Scottie Thompson still nursing a finger injury, the debate on who will be his possible replacement is starting to simmer.
Meralco coach Luigi Trillo floated the idea of having Chris Newsome in the Gilas Pilipinas roster just in case Thompson fails to see action in the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host from 25 August to 10 September.
Trillo said the possible absence of Thompson is truly a major blow to the Filipinos campaign but there are other players who are more than ready to step up in the prestigious 32-nation tournament.
The 6-foot-1 Thompson is doubtful to see action after suffering a right metacarpal injury in the last few days of their camp in Lithuania.
Usually, the recovery period will take six to eight weeks but Gilas coach Chot Reyes is tempering his expectations, bracing for the possibility of losing his top point guard in the biggest basketball spectacle in the world.
Trillo said Newsome, his player at Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association, can supply all the numbers that Gilas will lose if and when Thompson sits out.
“I’d like to make a strong case for Chris Newsome. He can do a lot of those things,” Trillo said in a message to Daily Tribune.
“Like Scottie, Chris reads the game very well. He is also a very underrated on-ball defender. Scottie will definitely be missed but like every team that goes through adversity, it’s an opportunity collectively to make up for not having Scottie there.”
Reyes admitted that Thompson’s absence will create a gaping hole in his game plan.
A 6-foot-1 playmaker, Thompson can practically do everything inside the court from passing to defending, shooting, attacking and rebounding.
He also has a big fighting heart that could boost the momentum of his teammates and shock their bigger, heftier opponents.
“Of course, we’re waiting. Scottie’s case is week by week that depends on his healing process,” Reyes said over the weekend.
“Remember that he is our starting point guard. But we are already preparing for the eventuality of playing without him.”
But Reyes, one of the key decision-makers in the final roster, hinted at the possibility of tapping Perez to fill his spot.
“That’s why if you see our lineup last night (against Senegal), we had CJ. We were trying to have CJ as the other point guard to play that role.”
Aside from Newsome and Perez, there are other playmakers who are expected to be given a long, hard look like Kiefer Ravena, Dwight Ramos and, of course, naturalized player Jordan Clarkson, who left Los Angeles for Manila on Monday.
“We also have another point guard who is not yet here,” Reyes quipped.
“His initials are J.C.”
