There is talk that San Miguel Beer guard Alex Cabagnot may be invited to join Gilas in the third or fourth window of the FIBA Asia/Pacific qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup and with the PBA Board of Governors now allowing open access to players from any team, national coach Chot Reyes might just enlist the Crunchman who’s coming off an outstanding performance in the just-concluded PBA Philippine Cup.
In the third window, Gilas will play Chinese-Taipei on the road on June 29 and Australia at the Philippine Arena on July 2. In the fourth window which is the start of the second round of eliminations, it’s likely the Philippines will play Iran on Sept. 13 and Qatar on Sept. 16. The assumption is the Philippines will be second in Group B behind Australia and Iran will top Group D with Qatar in third place after three qualifying windows.
A source said the PBA will free up Sept. 7-17, meaning neither practice nor game for any PBA team during the period. That will give Reyes the freedom to choose any player from any team without restrictions. If Andray Blatche is not chosen as Gilas’ naturalized import, Christian Standhardinger could be tapped instead. By then, he will be playing for San Miguel. Reyes could pick Standhardinger, JuneMar Fajardo and Cabagnot from the San Miguel lineup in that situation.
Cabagnot, 35, was born in the Philippines and raised in the US so there’s no issue about his travel document unlike US-born Fil-Ams who may represent the country in FIBA competitions only if they received their passports before turning 16. He was the second overall pick in the 2005 PBA draft after Jay Washington and has played 12 years in the league with Sta. Lucia Realty, Coca-Cola, Burger King, GlobalPort and San Miguel. In Game 4 of the recent Finals, Cabagnot erupted for 27 points on 10-of-18 field goals, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 free throws in 34:53 minutes as San Miguel beat Magnolia, 84-80.
Another San Miguel player Marcio Lassiter would be a fit for Gilas but there may be a problem with his status. He represented the country at the 2010 Asian Games but FIBA Asia allowed his participation only for that competition and ruled it would not be a precedent for future FIBA tournaments. Lassiter received his Philippine passport after turning 16. If FIBA applies the eligibility rule on Lassiter, he will be allowed to play for the Philippines only as a naturalized import like Jordan Clarkson and Standhardinger.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria said he dedicated winning the Philippine Cup crown to his wife Nanette who is recovering from a kidney transplant. “My wife is doing well and she always watches our games on TV so when I mentioned her name during the TV interview after we won the championship, she heard it,” he said.
Austria said even with a 3-1 lead in the Finals, San Miguel couldn’t afford to be complacent. “We knew Magnolia would fight until the end so we came prepared,” he said. “We used a short rotation because we wanted to end it that night. We didn’t want to extend the series. Chris (Ross) has been taking pain-killers just to be able to play despite his hip flexor and quad tear. There’s a lot of wear and tear in our starters. We were down by 23 but our players have the heart of a champion. They wanted to finish it in Game 5 and they did. Honestly, I thought there would be a Game 6 but the team refused to lose and I’m so happy for them because they’ve developed a winning attitude. God is good.”
Austria said San Miguel will take a break and report back to practice on April 19. The second conference begins on April 22 but neither San Miguel nor Magnolia is scheduled to play until after May 4. Austria said Ross will use the break to recover from his injury. “For sure, Chris will be having plenty of time for his therapy,” he said. “But knowing Chris, he’ll not likely miss a game but it depends on his recovery and I will not compromise his condition for any game.”