Gilas has right mix for SEABA battle

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas assistant coach Jong Uichico said yesterday the mix of veterans and newcomers provides a strong balance in the composition of the national team playing at the SEABA Championships here on May 12-18 but qualified that the lineup isn’t set in stone if the Philippines advances to the FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut on Aug. 10-20.

“If and when we qualify for Beirut, our roster could change,” he said. “It was difficult to pick the 12 players for SEABA and the lineup may not be the same for the FIBA Asia Cup. Kevin (Ferrer) and Bryan (Cruz), for instance, played well in the pool tryouts. They will surely be considered for future national teams. We’ll form two teams for the FIBA Asia Cup and the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 19-30 so everybody gets a chance to play overseas for Gilas. There will be a slight overlap in the schedule of both tournaments. Coach Chot (Reyes) will take care of the team in Beirut and my instructions are to coach the team in Kuala Lumpur. Coach Chot will follow in Kuala Lumpur after the FIBA Asia Cup.”

Uichico said the plan is for Andray Blatche to anchor Gilas in Beirut. “I don’t know if (Greg) Smith will be naturalized in time for the SEA Games,” he said. “Naturalization involves a process that will go through the House of Representatives and the Senate. I’m hoping Greg is naturalized in time for Kuala Lumpur.”

Of the 12 Gilas players, only four were on the team that beat Senegal at the FIBA World Cup in Spain in 2014 – Blatche, Jayson Castro, JuneMar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar. Four were on the squad that took second at the FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha in 2015 – Blatche, Castro, Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo. Six were on the roster for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila – Blatche, Romeo, Castro, Fajardo, Aguilar and Troy Rosario. Despite the unfamiliarity, Uichico said the chemistry is evident even as Blatche will join the team for only five practices before Gilas plays Myanmar in its SEABA opener on Friday. Blatche arrived from Atlanta via Los Angeles on a PAL flight early yesterday morning.

“The veterans give us stability and experience,” said Uichico. “The younger guys play with a lot of energy, they’re hungry and receptive. They’re all helping each other out. We’ve got five more days to prepare for our first game. We might gather twice a day, once for viewing and strategizing and once for court practice. Guys not familiar with coach Chot’s dribble-drive system are learning quickly. They’re all adjusting to the offensive and defensive system. Coach Chot is making it as simple as possible because of the short practice period.”

Uichico and other assistant coaches Josh Reyes and Jimmy Alapag are all on the same page in following Reyes’ lead. “Jimmy’s a big help,” he said. “He talks to the players individually, gives tips to the point guards and shares techniques in shooting around with the guys. Josh is the master of the dribble-drive and focuses on offense. I look at defense with Josh and do scouting. The staff takes care of the little details for coach Chot so he’s not overextended. Jimmy, Josh and I do what we can to free up coach Chot to concentrate on leading the team.”

Uichico said former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin, who was designated team consultant, hasn’t joined the practices as he’s fully focused on the Ateneo varsity, now playing at the Filoil Flying V preseason tournament.

Uichico said he’s impressed with newbies Matthew Wright, R. R.Pogoy and Allein Maliksi. “They fill their roles,” he said. “Matthew plays with a high level of efficiency and knows his limits. Allein and Matthew are two of our best spot-up shooters. R. R. does a lot of things for the team – he rebounds, defends, scores, sets up plays. I’ve seen Jayson and Calvin talk to the young guys to give them confidence. We’re all working together for a common goal – to win the championship for our country.” Others in the squad are Raymond Almazan and Jio Jalalon.

Uichico said from what he knows, only Indonesia has a naturalized player Jamarr Johnson of Widener University aside from Gilas in the SEABA tournament. Johnson, 28, is a 6-5 forward who took Rookie of the Year and regular season and playoffs MVP honors in the Indonesian league this past campaign. Uichico flew to Jakarta last January to scout the Indonesian national team that has been training since November. Indonesia placed second to the Philippines at the SEA Games in 2015.

The Philippines plays Indonesia on May 18, the final day of competitions. The game will decide the championship if both sweep their previous assignments. The seven teams will play a single round-robin after which the leader is declared the champion. There will be no playoff to break ties as only the quotient system will decide deadlocks.