Unlike the past two FIBA windows, Gilas Pilipinas will have an abundance of talent for the fourth window of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
With overseas leagues still in the off-season and the majority of the Philippine Basketball Association teams already eliminated in the Philippine Cup by the August 25-29 window, the pool for the window will be huge.
Moreover, naturalized player Jordan Clarkson is set to join the national team for the first time since the 2018 Asian Games.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach and program director Chot Reyes is looking to utilize the games against Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as a way to see whether the likes of Clarkson and Jamie Malonzo will integrate well with the current mainstays like Dwight Ramos, the Ravens bros, and Carl Tamayo.
“We have to field the best team possible. Whatever that composition is, it’s still too early to tell. I heard Coach Tim Cone’s interview last night and he said that even he cannot pick a 12-man lineup at this point. It’s still too early to tell,” Reyes told Radyo5’s Power & Play with Kom. Noli Eala.
“But having said that, in the next window, we will have quite a number of PBA players in the lineup. Ihahalo na natin sila from the core of FIBA Asia. We are going to see now kung sino ang puwede. It is a work in progress. Now na na-eliminate na yung Northport, so I can already say that we are looking at Malonzo. How can he work with these guys? Can he work with Carl Tamayo or a Dwight Ramos? Dwight Ramos is already working out and gave us his commitment,” he continued.
“It’s a process kasi pero siguro ang mali namin is hindi namin sinabi sa mga tao yung buong plano. Siyempre, we don’t want naman to divulge all our plans pero inupuan na namin ito a few months ago pa. We thought long and hard about it and we knew what was going to happen. That’s why we said, let’s just keep trying and putting players in and take a look kung sino ang puwede. And then in the end, it will make our final determination,” said Reyes.
“For example now, we’ll take a look si Jordan Clarkson. Can he play with Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks, and other PBA guys. We are confident it will help us in 2023.”
The fifth window which is set from November 11 to 14 will be troublesome for Gilas as the collegiate leagues and the PBA will be ongoing. Most likely, the overseas imports will be fielded during the road games against Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the final window will see a hybrid of amateurs and overseas imports as the PBA will hold its import-laden conference by then.
Reyes stressed that the fourth window will be the first time he will have a close look at Clarkson.
Though technically a shoo-in for the World Cup, Reyes said that he does not want to pre-empt anything.
“Jordan Clarkson has already committed that he is going to be available for the World Cup. Will he be the final naturalized player? That remains to be seen. Ayoko naman magsalita ng patapos,” he said.
“It’s kinda hard to keep a talent like Jordan Clarkson if he’s available and not be on the team. More importantly, he has committed a four to six-week practice time for the run up to the World Cup. Para sa kababayan natin, relax lang kayo.”
Already impressing Reyes are Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, and Parks. And for sure, they will be invited to Gilas’ final camp which begins in May.
“Tamayo will be in the final pool. We are happy with the game of Kevin Quiambao, the Ravena brothers, Ray Parks, Dwight Ramos. I think it’s a no-brainer that they will be in the pool,” he said.
“Will they make the Final 12? We’ll see who is playing at their best. We are going through a series of tune up games and competitions in June and July next year. When it’s time to name the final 12, we will name the 12 best playing together. We even have plans another naturalized player. Big man naman this time just in case para hindi sabihin ng tao na hindi tayo handa.”
Unlike the 2014 batch of Gilas, Reyes shared that there is now an abundance of tall wingers in the Philippines.
What he is looking for now are bigs as his wishlist includes the likes of June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Kai Sotto, and AJ Edu.
Photo by FIBA.basketball
“I think, remember nung panahon natin, yung mga wings natin maliliit. Mga shooter, 6-1, 6-2, now we have taller guards. Ray Parks, Jamie Malonzo can be there. We have Carl Tamayo. Siyempre hindi pa rin big man yan but there are a lot of bright spots. If Kai Sotto continues to develop and get stronger, we will get a 7-3 guy playing perhaps with Japeth and June Mar. That’s a pretty solid frontline. Then add a scorer like Jordan Clarkson to the mix and then some role players. Those are the things we are already talking about,” he said.
“Of course, we are not making any final determination, we don’t want to pre-empt ourselves. We want to give a lot of people a chance. Malayo pa naman e. Ang importante, we are taking a look at a lot of players.”
