FIBA Manila Olympic qualifier veterans make hoops headlines

MANILA, Philippines – Turkish basketball player Cedi Osman compiled 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in leading the post-LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers to a NBA Summer League 93-88 win over the Indiana Pacers Tuesday.

And that had our mind racing back to the events of two years ago.

You see, two years ago, today, July 10, the Manila Olympic Qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympics ended with France advancing to the Summer Games after defeating Canada, 83-74. Turkey, as was host the Philippines, then did not make it out of the group phase. Osman, then 21 years of age, was second to compatriot Omer Asik in scoring during the OQT.

By tournament’s end, the scoring leader board had the Philippines’ Andray Blatche topping the field with 25.5 points in two matches. Other Filipino players listed in the Top 10 scoring included Jayson Castro (eighth at 13.5) and Terrence Romeo (10^th with 12.0).

But how about the other players?

Of the seven foreign players, if they have not been in any NBA news, they have campaigned in their respective country’s qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

Outside our Gilas Pilipinas players, let’s take a look at where those players are now:

Corey Webster, New Zealand

Webster was second in scoring during the Manila OQT with 21.7 points per game. He is currently with the Guizhou Shenghang Snow Leopards in China’s NBL. The Kiwi is averaging 40.3 points; third in league scoring. The 29-year-old Tall Blacks shooting guard was in red-hot form as he scored a season-high 48 points in Guizhou's last outing, a 127-113 victory over Jiangsu to improve to 2-1 for the campaign. 

Cory Joseph, Canada

As for Joseph, the last time he wore his country’s colors was at the Manila OQT in an 83-74 loss to France in the finals as they missed out on a slot to the Rio Olympics. Joseph averaged 7.9 points and 3.2 assists with the Indiana Pacers after he was traded by the Toronto Raptors.

Now with a stronger Canadian squad (that is still missing many of their NBA players) that included the Orlando Magic’s Khem Birch, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks, the Miami Heat’s Kelly Olynyk, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dwight Powell, the North American squad pulverized tiny Virgin Islands, 99-69, with Joseph scoring 11 points in the win.

Nando De Colo, France

France’s Nando De Colo, who briefly played for the Toronto Raptors before decamping to CSKA Moscow, had a superb OQT where he averaged 17.3 points per game. The Raptors tendered a new offer sheet to De Colo last June 28 in a bid to keep the French star who has been tearing up the Euroleague.

In France’s recent 84-78 win over Russia in the last window of the European Qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, De Colo and Evan Fournier each scored 15 points to lead Les Bleus.

Tai Webster, New Zealand

Tai Webster, the fifth leading scorer of the Manila OQT with 16.3 points for New Zealand recently landed a NBA Summer League spot with the Miami Heat. He is the fourth Kiwi to take a crack at landing a spot on a NBA roster. Webster did not play in the recent loss to the Golden State Warriors but suited up for 21 minutes in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Maurice NDour, Senegal

Senegal’s Maurice NDour was one of the crowd favorites during the Manila OQT and he parleyed his strong showing (15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds — tops for the qualifiers) in the tournament into a spot with the New York Knicks. However, when then squad president Phil Jackson was axed, so was NDour.

He missed Senegal’s recent African qualifier match (a win against Mozambique) as he is currently trying out for various NBA squads.

Tony Parker, France

Parker, who will go down as a NBA great when he hangs up his sneakers, averaged 13.8 points in Les Bleu’s romp to the Manila OQT top spot. Parker retired from international duty for France after the Rio Olympics. He was in the news recently after he left the San Antonio Spurs for the Charlotte Hornets. Parker spent 17 years with the Spurs helping them win four NBA titles (he also in six All-Star Games and was named to the All-NBA team four times).

Just today, Parker, in an interview, explained how his quote about former Spurs’ teammate Kawhi Leonard, was misconstrued and led to some problems within the team. The Frenchman said that did not contribute in any way to his leaving San Antonio for Charlotte.

Parker joins compatriot and Manila OQT veteran Nicolas Batum in Charlotte.

Melvin Ejim, Canada

Canada’s 6’7” Melvin Ejim averaged 12.5 points during the OQT. Ejim despite standing at 6’7” is deemed undersized and a tad slower to play in the four spot in the NBA. Ejim has gamely accepted his fate and while playing in Russia for Unics Kazan with Senegal’s Ndour, has always made himself available for national team duty. He figured in the win over the Virgin Islands last weekend.

And on a non-player note, the Manila OQT was the last that American-New Zealander coach Tab Baldwin was at the helm of the Philippine national team. However, he will be leading Ateneo which will represent the country in the upcoming William Jones Cup that tips off this coming July 14 at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.