Even if it’s been two years since he last suited up for Gilas Pilipinas, Marcus Douthit, the program’s first-ever naturalized Filipino, continues to keep tabs on how the team and the program are doing.
“You know every time I’m on Twitter or I’m online, or I’m looking for a newspaper, or anything, I’m talking to Jimmy [Alapag], there’s always an urge to see how the guys are doing, the next tournament coming up, follow them, watching them, you know I still stay in touch,” the 37-year-old shared.
Douthit marveled at the collection of talent inside the Meralco Gym on Thursday night, as there were a lot of bodies present for that night’s session. And he could not help but compare it to his time with the Nationals, when they struggled to even bring in 10 cagers on certain nights.
But what the 6-foot-11 big man is looking forward to is the next wave of potential Gilas players — the next generation of cadets that will lead the program in 2020 and beyond.
“We have kids that are 14 to 15 and even younger. The SBP’s building something great for the country and the world,” expressed Douthit, who helped lead the Philippines to the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
“Shoot, I’m excited to see the new Gilas pool because at the end of the day, the young guys before have become the vets and now we got young kids, seven-footers and [they’re] just sixteen!”
The players Douthit was pertaining to are the likes of 6-foot-11 Kai Sotto, 14 years old; 6-foot-9 Filipino-Nigerian AJ Edu, 17 years old; and 6-foot-9 Filipino-Australian Ethan Kirkness, 15 years old. And if the next generation develops the right way, the Syracuse, New York-born cager believes that there will come a time when the program will no longer need to look to naturalize players to keep pace with the world’s powerhouses.
“As far as like getting naturalized players, we could shy away from that soon.
“You know what I mean? Which is even better for the country because now other countries will say, ‘They got an advantage!'” the two-time SEA Games gold medalist enthused.
