It is the high-time to form the Philippine National Basketball Team. Habang mainit ang lahat sa nalalapit na Olympics, magandang pagkakataon na ito para makapaghanda for the next big thing sa baskteball.
Pero bago ang lahat, here are a few notes on the Smart-Gilas team during their time as the hardcourt flag bearer:
1) Rabeh Al-Hussaini should be on the team. He's a pioneer in the lineup of Coach Rajko Toroman, but he suddenly decided to go pro and join the PBA. What happened? I do not know. This maybe...
Rabeh's agent/friend/whoever might have told him: Uy pre! wag ka na mag-RP team! Pa-draft ka na this year. Kukunin ka ng San Miguel. Magiging alaga ka dun!
Rabeh: Talaga??? E Air21 ang top pick ah. Paano yun?
Agent/Friend/WMHTH: Air21 yan pre. Air21.
Rabeh: Ah oo nga no! Air21. Sige payag na ko! Ako na bahala sa reason.
(The following exchange is fully a product of imagination. Any similarities with real-life situations are purely coincidental.)
2) The coaching staff. Coach Rajko didn't have a board of directors type of assistant coaches that he kept from start to finish. Were Coach Chot Reyes and Coach Ryan Gregorio in the Gilas bench when the team competed in the PBA? They even didn't have the same GM (it's a more hip term for SBP Executive Director, the one who formed the team) when they started and when they competed in the FIBA-Asia Championships.
3) If ever did that all-amateur team failed, their emergency button was the PBA. And Coach Rajko's main man on that sea of pro-players? The primary target? It's the rival company's biggest babyface... Jaaaaaaaaammmmeeeessss Yap!
4) The Greg Slaugther effect. He was in the team when they ran over the PBA teams in the 2011 Commissioner's Cup. He wasn't in the Asian Championships lineup. He's tall. He got moves (when he was playing for Coach Rajko). He's a ball player. He's a Filipino.
Four important points. These must be the things I all need to produce my National Team. Yes, I will form my own national team for basketball. We all have an opportunity to form the next team that will try to be the bad ass of Asian basketball, and I'm taking mine. And I'll do it the way Lee Kuan Yew did to Singapore (that's why you and/or a lot of people you know wanted to go there and live). I'll be the fucking basketball dictator of this basketball-crazy town. All shall abide. Those who refuse will be locked in to a room to figure out how would the Lakers salvage this season and make the Lakers team listen to them.
So expect more than four episodes of this series. Migraine free.
Here's a fun thing to do before we end. Let's put the question "What would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?" on each points. Of course I'll answer it! So can you! There's a large comment box below which you can use. Or we could talk about it on Twitter! Follow me @sirjhaydelacruz
Here we go!
1) If Rabeh Al-Hussaini was on the team, what would happen to Smart-Gilas then? Would have they improve the fourth place finish or not?
One thing is for sure, Rabeh won't have any insecurity issues with Noy Baclao since Noy was clearly bound for the PBA that time. The rest, mahirap na isipin. Would he want to play with Chris Tiu? Would Chris Tiu want to play with him? Would he deck someone when he gets totally pissed? Would he and Japeth Aguilar become Tantrum buddies come the Asian Championships?
The best comparison for him relating to the second question must be Ranidel De Ocampo. They both have highly efficient offensive games for their sizes that makes them pretty difficult to defend. What separates them is that Rabeh is a bit quicker while Ranidel is made of Portland Cement. If Rabeh was in the Asian Championship lineup, Ranidel wouldn't be around. The result might still be the same fourth place finish.
2) If they had a fixed coaching staff, what would happen to Smart-Gilas? Would have they improved the fourth place finish or not?
Coach Rajko's general system of offense is undoubtedly phenomenal. But it would have been better if the young guys were earlier oriented to some PBA style of coaching, were coaches use their players' individual ability on their plays. Remember that semifinal game, when we had Jordan in our hands and Gilas ran that same double-screen play on top? Jordan had that play all figured-out, so their own Cinderella run continued to the finals and left us to face those fucking Koreans. Having a general system is always good for it teaches discipline. But in a clever world kailangan din ng ibang diskarte para makalusot. So if those PBA coaches were aboard Coach Rajko's ship ever since, hell yeah! We might be in London this July! (Have we faced China in that finals, we'd win by disqualification. They were ready to deck the entire Gilas team if ever they crossed paths in that finals. I'm serious! Bob Donewald is very disgusted with Gilas.)
3) If we field an all-PBA team to the 2011 FIBA-Asia...
NO! Let's modify the question... again, again, again...
3) If James Yap was fielded in the Gilas lineup, then what?
First, Sol Mercado won't be in the Asian Games lineup. No matter how Sol good is, the team was a mess that time. If James Yap was there, think Dondon Hontiveros' stint in the 2011 Jones Cup when he was in that lineup; a reliable outside shooter and a pesky defender. Only James was younger. Had he been in the final lineup, Chris Tiu's load would have been lighter and Gilas' offense would have been one step better. (Hang on a second... if only we knew earlier that Chris Lutz have those deadly hops and crossovers, he's the automatic number two spot and Marcio Lassiter will be the number three spot. Chris Tiu will come off the bench, and Mac Baracael will share the three-spot rotation with Lutz and Lassiter. Effective wingmen rotation!) Okay, they don't need James Yap.
4) If Greg Slaughter just ignored Ateneo and continued the Gilas duties, what would happen then? Would they improve the fourth place finish?
They might still end up fourth place, because there will be no Asi Taulava if there was Greg Slaughter. The team might still be the same if Greg suited for the Asian Championships. The real question is what would happen to Greg Slaughter.
(Finally! I found a way to say this! I have been keeping this since November 2011. YES!!!)
We all saw in clear, crisp, and 3D who Greg Slaughter was in the 2011 PBA Second Conference. A tall dude. Marcus Douthit backup. A piece of work. Not a mess. Again, not a mess. Although his lateral movement was obviously lacking in velocity, his effectiveness and basketball IQ was impressive enough to overwhelm expectations of everyone, including Coach Rajko himself. He was just too slow, that's why he's making love with the bench often times (and relatively lesser time compared to Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros). But whenever he's on the floor, he made sure he'll do whatever the coach requires him to do to his full extent. He's a mean presence inside the paint (madalas nga lang ma-out box). He rebounds (madalas nga lang ma-outrebound). He block shots (madalas... nya gawin to). And ultimately, he scores (he even posterized both Nino Canaleta and Roger Yap on the same dunk). He's a big man with a whopping potential. That's all we knew since then.
Fast forward to the 2011 SEA Games. (I didn't watch him in the UAAP. I didn't need to watch it. I knew Ateneo would win ever since.)
2011 SEA Games. I knew Philippines would kick everybody's ass in that tournament. I watched it for Greg Slaughter to see what's up with him.
And boy... even though no one could match up with him, he's a mess.
That lateral movement we complained about, it wasn't there. It even got worse! His footwork, a mess. He couldn't back down his guy properly. His strength, questionable. That Thai guy who looked like Jay-R Taganas... he could clothesline Greg if he wanted to. Greg looked like a sick dude back there.
Well okay, his passing was amazing during the SEA Games. Even though his passing difficulty was reduced to novice because every opponent was five-seven inch lower than him, he didn't screwed up any of those passes to his teammates especially when he was double teamed. He didn't had that passing skill during their PBA stint, so there was an improvement. But where were those other skills he was trying to develop with the Gilas team? Naiwan niya sa Katipunan?
Poor Greg. Why him?
For sure a separate column will be dedicated to him in the coming weeks to explain everything that I will answer in about a word from now.
In proper guidance, he'll have his spot as the best centers in Asia.
And now for one final tribute-liners for the Smart-Gilas Pilipinas.
Mark Barroca - You'd be my starting point guard for the "No BullShit (BS) team". The team were players just do whatever they're supposed to do in the court with no questions asked and no flashes beyond. Just pure playing.
Asi Taulava - From Yao Ming, to Hamed Ehadadi, to Yi Jianlian. You were always the underdog to these people but you found a way to stop them through all these years. That's your legacy big man.
JVee Casio - Your big time plays kill a lot of people; your fans for excitement and your opponents for craziness. And you'll still continue to do it.
Jimmy Alapag - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Probably your last run in the national team.
Chris Tiu - With your looks, no one really believed you were a bad ass on the basketball court until you gave them a knee to the body everytime you had a chance.
Japeth Aguilar - You risked your PBA career just to be a part of this. Probably when you experience hip cramps while watching your teammates during the Asian Championships, you must've thought "...hindi na pala dapat ako umalis ng PBA..."
Mac Baracael - The top of the key dude. You'll do great in Alaska.
Marcus Douthit - The change of citizenship must be so worth it. And yes, thanks!
Kelly Williams - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. You'll have another run for the team. In MY team and in the real world's team.
Marcio Lassiter - You and your other Gilas buddies are a sure shot superstars because of your excellent performance with the team. So it really sucks when they underestimated your value when you were placed on the table. Now that the deal is dead (or is it...) you can now explode in your games.
Chris Lutz - You are an obedient student to Coach Rajko. Because if you were not, I would have seen you cross-over on one of those games, and probably broken T.G. Moon's ankle. Good dude!
Ranidel De Ocampo - PBA Rescue 911 respondent. Fifty percent chance of getting in the next team. I wish you decked someone during the Asian Championships. Kumpleto na sana ang viewing pleasure ko.
Dylan Ababou - A poor man's Danny Seigle. Yes, that is you. That's why you were benched. OK lang yan! Ikaw pa din ang mas murang version ni Danny Seigle.
Jason Ballesteros - You're now in the team that is being captained by Gilbert Lao. Name and other teammates are still in the works.
ENJOY THE WEEK!
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