Chot speculates on new Gilas squad

MANILA, Philippines - Without assuming who will coach the next Gilas team, Chot Reyes said yesterday it’s time to rethink the future composition of the national basketball team and invite young blood for the program to move forward.

Only Paul Lee, 25, and JuneMar Fajardo, 24, were below 27 among the players who suited up for the country at the recent FIBA World Cup in Spain and the Asian Games in Incheon. The Philippines had the second highest age average of 30 years old at the FIBA World Cup, next to Brazil’s 31.

From the PBA, Reyes said key immediate additions to the Gilas squad could be Barangay Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter, 25, San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter, 27, and San Mig Coffee’s Mark Barroca, 28, and Ian Sangalang, 22. For the Gilas cadets squad, he named 10 players in a wish list – Kiefer Ravena, Roi Sumang, Jolo Mendoza, Bobby Ray Parks, Kevin Ferrer, Mac Belo, Arnold Van Opstal, Prince Caperal, Kobe Paras and Troy Rosario.

“We’ll need shooters in the mold of Allan Caidic and Jeff Chan,” said Reyes. “Garvo Lanete is still with the Gilas pool and maybe, there is room for shooters like Jhong Baloria and Harold Arboleda who were just drafted in the PBA. Jeron Teng would also be a candidate particularly if he develops a three-point shot.”

Reyes said before the start of next year, the blueprint on how to prepare for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships in China should be ready. “South Korea and China are way ahead in preparing for the FIBA Asia Championships where only the winner will represent Asia at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,” he said. “South Korea went to the World Cup not really thinking of winning any games but just playing to get ready for the Asian Games and beyond. China has rebuilt its national team and while they didn’t make the semifinals at the Asian Games, they’re looking ahead. I understand the SBP and the PBA Board will sit down soon to take up this issue.”

Reyes said despite the debacle at the Asian Games, the Gilas program is on the right path. “Without discussing who the right players and the right coach should be for the next Gilas team, the vision should be the bigger picture, the whole process of building a national team,” he said. “The Gilas program is in place. But before anything else, we should know who will be available for the next team. Will it be an open draft? Will PBA teams allow their players to be picked?”

Reyes said from the journey of the FIBA Asia Championships last year to the Asian Games, he learned three lessons. “First, we need to get the best team out there with the best players and give them enough time to train,” he said. “It can’t be one or the other, they go hand in hand. Second is the value of international experience. There is no substitute for playing against teams of a higher level because that’s how you improve. Our team was exposed to high standards of the game while training in Lithuania, New Zealand, Miami and Spain. That exposure gave us a big lift in Spain where we were one possession and one play away from beating some of the world’s best teams. And third, expanding our knowledge of the different quirks in playing the game. We saw how the game is played differently in Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. There are different team and player tendencies, how the referees interpret calls like the three-second violation and traveling. They’re little things that can make a difference between winning or losing a game.”

Reyes said he agrees that Gilas was poorly prepared for the Asian Games. “Our plan was we would prepare for the Asian Games at the FIBA World Cup,” he said. “But Dray (Blatche) was ruled ineligible and all of a sudden, we lost 22 points and 13 rebounds a game. We also lost Jayson (Castro). Basically, we lost two of our best attack players for Incheon. Would Andray have made a difference at the Asian Games? Look at how South Korea beat Iran in the finals. South Korea’s 6-9 center (Kim Jong Kyu) did a lot of damage with his medium-range shooting and scored 17 points. (Hamed) Haddadi had a hard time defending him because of his range. Haddadi has an easier time defending the post. Personally, I think Haddadi wouldn’t be effective against Andray. Still, without Andray, we came close to beating Iran and also South Korea.”

As for Blatche, Reyes said the 6-11 center will play in China up to March or April. “Dray will be available for the NBA playoffs after he finishes up in China,” said Reyes. “Discussions with NBA teams didn’t pan out. It was a wise business decision to play in China. Dray was in South Korea for a four-hour layover on the way to China and messaged to ask if he could come over and see us in Incheon. That was before our last game against Mongolia. But Dray was too far to make the trip. He’s committed to play for us at the FIBA Asia Championships. We expect Dray to be available to fly to Manila to begin practice with Gilas at the end of the NBA playoffs.”

Gilas’ other naturalized player Marcus Douthit will return to the US on Friday. Douthit, 34, was benched in the crucial game against South Korea for disciplinary reasons in Incheon and the Philippines lost by two. In Gilas’ farewell game against Mongolia, Douthit played sparingly and wound up scoreless in 7:53 as the Philippines won, 84-68. Coach Tab Baldwin, who was with Gilas in Spain and Incheon, went back to his home in New Zealand but will fly to Manila on Oct. 15 or 16 to assume duties as consultant with Talk ‘N’ Text in the PBA and the Gilas program from elite down to U16.