Toroman cites Lee, Dillinger

Former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman said yesterday he appreciates how difficult it is for Philippine national team coach Chot Reyes to decide whom to replace Larry Fonacier in the final 12-man lineup for the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Aug. 30-Sept. 14.

Fonacier was a shoo-in to keep his spot in the roster but begged off due to back and foot issues on Dr. George Canlas’ advice. Right now, Reyes has 16 players in the Gilas pool – Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, JunMar Fajardo, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Marcus Douthit, L. A. Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar (all of whom suited up at the FIBA Asia Championships in Manila last year) and Beau Belga, Andray Blatche, Jared Dillinger, Jay Washington and Paul Lee. That means four will be left out of the final cast.

The slot for a naturalized player will go to either Douthit or Blatche.  The factors to consider in determining who will crack the final 12 list are presumably health, role to play in Reyes’ system, mental toughness and ability to get the job done. A lot will depend on the mold that Reyes has in mind for the team – the kind of team he needs to be competitive against Croatia, Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Senegal which are in the Philippines’ elimination bracket in Group B of the World Cup.

At the recent FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, Reyes’ 12-man cast listed six FIBA-Asia Championships holdovers Tenorio, David, De Ocampo, Douthit, Aguilar and Fajardo and six invitees Dillinger, Belga, Washington, Lee, Garvo Lanete and Kevin Alas. The Philippines wound up third with an overall record of 5-1, losing only to Iran, 76-55, and beating China, 80-79, for the bronze medal.

Here’s how the 12 players scored on an average basis: De Ocampo (12.2), Lee (12.0), Douthit (8.5), David (7.8), Tenorio (7.5), Aguilar (5.2), Dillinger (4.5), Belga (4.2), Washington (3.3), Alas (2.3), Fajardo (2.2) and Lanete (2.2). No player scored more than 18 in a game with De Ocampo hitting 18 against China and Lee 18 against Chinese-Taipei. De Ocampo had double figure points in five games, Lee in four and Douthit, Tenorio and David in three.

Toroman coached Jordan in Wuhan and took the national team to fifth place with a 3-3 mark. Jordan lost to Chinese-Taipei, 85-63, the Philippines, 71-70 and Iran, 75-60. The wins were over Singapore, 70-53, India, 69-65 and Japan, 79-72. India was the surprise in the tournament, losing to Iran by 13, the Philippines by four and Jordan also by four. China lost to India, 65-58.

Jordan showed up with nine holdovers from the national squad that took seventh place at the last FIBA Asia Championships. Struck out was naturalized player Jimmy Baxter whose spot was returned to 33-year-old Rasheim Wright, the import he had replaced. Still absent were Jordanian mainstays Zaid Abbas and Sam Daghlas who are recuperating from injuries. Abbas and Daghlas also didn’t play at the FIBA Asia Championships. Toroman succeeded Evangelos Alexandris of Greece on the bench.

Toroman’s duel with Reyes was one for the books as they know each other well, having worked together at Gilas previously. The Philippines won by a single point with the bench carrying the load to outscore the Jordan relievers, 41-25. Lee tallied 16 and De Ocampo 14 off the bench. Douthit was the only starter in twin digits with 13 points and nine rebounds. Dillinger contributed nine points and Belga seven. For Jordan, Wesam Al Sous had 14 points, Ahmad Al Dwairi 13 and Wright 11. The Philippines shot at a slightly higher clip from the field, 39 percent to 36, and knocked down two more triples, 7-5. Jordan, however, had more turnover points, 14-8, points in the paint, 38-34, fastbreak points, 6-4, assists, 8-6 and rebounds, 45-39.

Although champion Iran and the Philippines were the only teams with a loss apiece, Toroman said Gilas could’ve played even better. “It’s expected because of the short preparation, missing important players Castro, Chan, Norwood, Jimmy and Pingris and two players Belga and Lee coming after Game 5 of the PBA Finals,” said Toroman. “It’s very difficult for me to talk about Gilas. Of course, I spent a lot of time talking with the players and coaching staff. I will never forget my five years in Manila.”

Toroman said of the six “new” players in the Gilas lineup, Lee and Dillinger were the standouts. “In my opinion, Lee was one of Gilas’ best players,” said the Serbian. “He has a lot of confidence and can play both positions one and two. Jared was also good. He played like Norwood with good size. He’s a good defender and can play three positions, one, two and three. I think Lee and Dillinger are strong candidates for the World Cup team.”

In preparing for the World Cup, Toroman suggested Gilas to focus on “tactical things.” “Quickness is an important weapon for Gilas and it can’t be only one player,” he said. “On a high level, only Castro can be that advantage and this is the reason why Gilas must make adjustments in tactical issues to be competitive with other teams. I always mention to my players that San Antonio is probably playing the best basketball in the world today. Ball movement, player movement, using the strength of your players, discipline and rules in defense are the elements of a formula that the Gilas coaching staff, with Tab Baldwin as consultant, could use to do a good job to be competitive.”

Toroman said he would’ve liked to travel to Spain for the World Cup but his priority is to get Jordan ready for the Asian Games in Incheon on Sept. 19-Oct. 4. Toroman will take the national team to play at the Jones Cup in Taipei on Aug. 8-17. So far, eight teams are confirmed to participate in the annual Taipei tournament that was won by the Philippines in 1981 and 1985 (both with coach Ron Jacobs), 1998 with coach Tim Cone and 2012 with Reyes. The eight teams are Jordan, Japan, Iran team B, Ulsan Mobis Phoebus of South Korea, Egypt, US, Chinese-Taipei national team and Chinese-Taipei developmental team. The US squad will be coached by former Toronto Raptors mentor Sam Mitchell. Two former PBA imports Chris Alexander and Marquin Chandler are listed in the US roster.