June 10, 2016
Countdown to Manila OQT: 25 days
Gilas Pilipinas wing man Jeff Chan says Marcio Lassiter’s absence will hurt the squad given that Lassiter is one of the best shooters in the country today.
“Mabigat ‘no. Alam naman natin capability ni Marcio. Great shooter siya. Kailangan siya sa team. I hope maka-recover siya,” Chan said.
Gilas suffered a blow after it was announced Lassiter will not be part of the 14-man pool who are set to train in Europe to prepare for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila.
The former Gilas 1.0 member shot 42.4 percent from three-point area in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Still Chan believes the rest of the squad can also step up its outside shooting.
“Pero I think kaya naman i-fill-up din ng iba. Lahat naman nagpa-practice din ng outside shooting. Kailangan lang naman magtulong-tulong eh,” Chan said, adding it should be a collective effort when it comes to that aspect of the game.
“Hindi lang naman kailangan ako ang shooter, everyone else, kailangan magkaroon ng kumpiyansa sa shooting outside,” he said.
Chan added the current pool is progressing well with its training camp, and shall only need to focus on more details to become an even better unit.
“Getting better naman everyday. Everyday nag-iimprove kami, lalo na sa defense. Konti na lang siguro kailangan namin ma-polish na details,” he said.
Being part of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship roster, Chan said if he ever makes the final cut, he will be excited given he already knows the feeling of playing in front of a home crowd for a major international tournament.
“Alam ko na yung feeling na ‘yun. Kung makasama ako sa final 12, very excited ako, lalo na last year, nag-skip ako. I hope this time, yung mission natin, mapasama tayo sa Olympics,” Chan said.
