With less than two weeks away, the composition of the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will compete in the FIBA World Cup is starting to shape up.
Outside of the obvious in National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson, other Gilas aspirants are still jockeying for positions in the final roster.
Mainstays June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar appeared to be headed for their third straight World Cup appearance, but with other players trying to get themselves into the mix, it looks like Chot Reyes and his coaching staff are going to have a hard time choosing their “Dirty Dozen” for the biggest basketball stage in the world.
Overseas cagers like Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu and even Rhenz Abando are making strong cases for their inclusion in the final roster while Philippine Basketball Association stalwarts like Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana and Roger Pogoy as well as Japan-based stars in Ray Parks, and Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena are doing their best by actively participating in the workouts.
Of course, 7-foot-3 NBA aspirant Kai Sotto, reigning PBA Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson and naturalized players Justin Bronwlee and Ange Kouame are technically still part of the pool but they are either being sidelined by injuries or have already committed elsewhere.
Sotto’s involvement has been limited and he has yet to contribute anything significant since arriving in the country three weeks ago.
Maybe the second-general cager felt that he should spend more time attending the workouts while waiting for his medical clearance on his back spasm rather than being spotted in different public places.
Take the case of Edu, the 6-foot-10 Filipino-Cypriot slotman and a first-time member of the Gilas program.
While being idle by an ankle injury, Edu didn’t give himself an excuse as he continuously showed up in practices despite being at the sidelines in the first month of training.
He came in nursing a badly sprained ankle when he first joined the training camp, which started in Manila, to Laguna, all the way to Estonia and Lithuania, and all he did was observe, do some light workouts and contribute anything positive even when he’s not playing.
When he finally got cleared to play and given the opportunity to showcase his wares, he didn’t disappoint and proved that he’s worthy of a spot in the final roster.
Even Ramos’ knee got banged up, but that didn’t slow him down as he still continued to work hard until emerging as one of the most solid performers for the Filipinos in the recent friendly series in China.
The next two weeks are going to be a lot more excruciating for the Gilas coaching staff when it starts plotting the final roster.
No doubt, Sotto and Thompson are hard to pass up, owing to what they can do on the floor — when they are healthy.
But with their present condition — Thompson still weeks away from recovery from a fractured right finger and Sotto unable to do contact drills in practices — perhaps it’s time for the coaching staff to focus its attention on players who had shown more devotion, healthier and can help out the team in any way they can.
Para sa bayan!
