While Justine Brownlee gleefully presents himself to Congress for his naturalization proceedings, I reckon most basketball fans have their own ideas just who should ideally compose Even as the euphoria of Gilas’ twin kills in the fifth window of the FIBA Asia qualifiers has not died down, Chot Reyes and his coaching staff are not fully satisfied with the present composition.
As I echoed in my last column, I find a need to infuse changes – perhaps two or three players have to be replaced to make Gilas truly competitive come the FIBA proper in August next season.
JunMar Fajardo, Carl Tamayo and Brownlee are the three guys I believe who can add more muscle and produce points as outside snipers.
So here goes.
For centers, Kai Sotto and Japhet Aguilar; Power forwards would be Fajardo, Poy Erram and Jamie Malonzo; Small forwards – Carl Tamayo, Bobby Ray Parks;
Shooting guards – Brownlee, RR Pogoy; and
Point guards – Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, CJ Perez.
Readers, you are welcome to disagree or agree.
JB, as the naturalized player, will replace Ange Kouame who becomes the reserve. The Ginebra import can also play the point.
Actually, all the five guards can play either 1 or 2 when necessary. All five are excellent ball carriers so that makes for a fluid five-man rotation at number 1 and 2.
You can make a sample of the first five in JB, Thompson, Aguilar, Fajardo and Parks. A competitive frontline huh?
Second unit would be Sotto, Erram, Pogoy, Ramos and Tamayo.
Coming off the bench would be Perez and Malonzo.
Is this not a combination of the young and the old? Hahaha.
Why is Sotto not a starter? The 7-3 aspiring NBAer cannot afford to be saddled with early fouls as what usually happens when he is matched up against fellow big centers in highly competitive matches.
Besides, Japhet, with several championships he has helped Ginebra San Miguel win in the PBA, is now a much more experienced pro and displays matured leadership qualities in the middle.
Erram is already a tested defender and can complement Sotto’s huge task in the painted area. (When necessary Fajardo and Erram can also play number 5.)
Malonzo has proven to be a tough hombre who can bang bodies against any opponent.
The opposition will be watching out for Parks and Pogoy’s sniping streak while Perez will be like a locomotive let loose on the tracks.
Of course, Scottie and Dwight possess court savvy. They are both reliable in orchestrating designed plays, issuing assists and stealing spheroids.
Let’s see if my choices are also Reyes’ and his coaching staff picks.
Gilas will battle Lebanon (which recently defeated New Zealand) and Jordan anew according to the FIBA sixth window February calendar. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
