A tall, athletic and versatile Gilas Pilipinas team has been formed armed with a mission of emerging as the top Asian team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host starting Friday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue,
Bulacan.
Led by 7-foot-3 rising star in Kai Sotto, a pair of 6-foot-10 slotmen in June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu and an athletic forward in 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, the team formed by Gilas coach Chot Reyes and his deputies in Tim Cone, Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes is regarded as the tallest ever in Philippine basketball.
Joining the four giants will be National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson as well as fan-favorite Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Roger Pogoy, and CJ Perez as well as international campaigners Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena and Rhenz Abando.
Fajardo and Aguilar will serve as the team’s elder statesmen as they are entering their third World Cup appearance after seeing action in the 2014 edition in Spain and 2019 tourney in China.
They are tipped to guide the young towers in Sotto and Edu as well as other first-timers like Clarkson, Thompson, Malonzo, Ramos and Abando.
SBP president Al Panlilio couldn’t wait to see the “balanced” Gilas squad in action.
“It’s a balanced and good team,” Panlilio told DAILY TRIBUNE in a Viber message.
“I’m excited and can’t wait for the games to begin.”
Forming the squad wasn’t easy.
Reyes initially came up with a 21-man pool but players like Carl Tamayo and Erram suffered injuries while Jordan Heading didn’t report for training even as naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame were deployed to the 19th
Asian Games and the William Jones Cup, respectively.
After their friendly matches against Ivory Coast, Montenegro and Mexico, the 16-man pool was further reduced with Thirdy Ravena, Calvin Oftana and Ray Parks getting cut while Chris Newsome was let go to comprise the final 12-man
roster.
Former national team member Jojo Lastimosa admired the composition of the squad.
“It’s complete. We have interior and perimeter defense, athletic players and playmakers,” Lastimosa, who was part of the team that clinched the bronze medal in the 1998 Asian Games under Cone.
But Lastimosa, who succeeded Reyes as TNT Tropang Giga head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association, noticed a huge hole in the Gilas lineup.
“If there’s one thing we lack, it’s outside shooting,” added Lastimosa, who played with outside shooters like Allan Caidic and Samboy Lim in 1986 as well as Kenneth Duremdes in 1998 when he competed in the Asian Games.
“The only weapon we have outside is just Clarkson. But if we have good shooting nights from Dwight, Roger, Malonzo and the other guards, I would say we have a 50/50 chance to win a game. If we shoot 35-38 percent from
the three-point region, we have a good chance.”
Thompson and Pogoy’s inclusion as well as Sotto’s came at a perfect time.
There were doubts on their availability two weeks before the start of the FIBA World Cup as they were coming off separate injuries.
Thompson’s road to recovery from a fractured ring finger was surprising as he returned to action just a month after being sidelined in the final stretch of their training in Europe.
Pogoy came back from a fractured pinky he suffered during the title series between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and TNT in the Governor’ Cup last April, but he regained his tip-top condition right after a series of friendly
games in China.
Sotto was also doubtful in the final week of the biggest basketball event as he was not yet 100 percent after suffering a back injury.
