Whenever Gilas Pilipinas takes part in any cagefest, one issue circles around one thing: size. And such issue becomes in particular especially with the bigs.
On Thursday night, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas released the final 12-man line-up for the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge Cup. No imports, no PBA players to enforce the squad. Each and every player came in the amateur ranks, with all of them raring to go and prove that they can slug it out with Asia’s best despite their youth.
Among the new acquisitions, one of the few players that others consider as a surprising pick is Ateneo Blue Eagle and Tanduay Rhum Master Alfonzo Gotladera, who is considered undersized for the five spot with a height of 6’5″.
Gilas 5.0 head coach Josh Reyes, however, insisted that the team made the right decision, saying that Gotladera’s wide-bodied frame can help the team a lot especially on the defensive side of the floor.
“Fonzo and AVO (Arnold Van Opstal) are our size,” said the coach. “At least may dalawa tayong big bodies that can push others out of the paint.”
For Gotladera’s part, meanwhile, all he wants is to prove to everyone that he deserves the selection, since, according to him, he is aware that he is an unknown commodity in comparison to his fellow Nationals.
“I know I haven’t proven anything yet. Obviously, everybody here are seasoned players. They’ve played internationally, so I’ve yet to prove my game.
“It’s a challenge, but I accept it,” the 24 year old said.
It is not the very first time that Gotladera was invited to play and don the country’s colors, though. Gotladera shared that he had a chance to play for flag and country back in 2010 during his junior year in high school, but conflicts made him turn down the lucrative offer.
“It was me and Baser Amer. It was a conflict kasi with the NCAA, so we opted to stay with our mother team, which is San Beda. We focused on San Beda rather than training with Powerade Under-18,” the former Blue Eagle shared, who was part of the San Beda Red Cubs that won the Juniors’ crown in three straight years.
Now that he has finally given the chance to compete for flag and country, Gotladera is happy as he was able to please the coaches and make the national team’s final cut.
“I’m happy. It’s something na gusto ko since I missed out on my Under-18 stint. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, once I get the chance to play again for the national team, I will grab it.
“I’m happy to be included, and it’s an honor since it’s for our country,” added Gotladera, who played two years with the De La Salle University Green Archers before transferring to rival school Ateneo de Manila University.
Gotladera averaged 4.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in his final year with Ateneo
With his focus now fully shifting on how he can help the team in it’s campaign in the Challenge Cup, Gotladera said that he has been doing a lot of work individually not only to boost Gilas’ depth in the frontcourt position, but also to keep pace with his much taller Asian counterparts in the tourney.
“I’m working on my strength and endurance. They’re big and the international game is fast, so that’s something I have to work on. One thing I’m sure of is I can handle them. I’m confident with my strength and physicality, so I think I can handle the bigs of other countries,” he stated.
When asked what his biggest asset is as a player to the stacked Gilas line-up, Gotladera said that he can contribute and bring a lot to the table — especially the intangibles and imposing presence on the court — for the squad in helping them earn victories.
“My toughness, my rebounding, [and] my inside presence. I’m confident I can help in scoring too, when they drop the ball to me or give me open looks,” the current Tanduay Rhum Master said.
Once Team Pilipinas sets foot in the Challenge Cup, Gotladera’s aim is not just to show and prove everyone that he can be one of the best, but also to help the Philippines show the country’s unique brand of basketball.
“[We want to show the] Philippines is the best team in Asia. We’re coming in there as a team. We want to win. We want to prove that Philippines is a team to be reckoned with internationally,” he confidently shared.
“As for myself, I want to prove that I’m more than capable of making an impact to the team, whether if it’s offensively or defensively.”
