Thoughts on Smart Gilas, after their sensational bronze-winning performance at the Dubai International Basketball Tournament

Posted by Jaemark Tordecilla on January 27, 2010 at 02:36 | Comments (11)

Like I said in the previous post, I hadn’t seen enough of Smart Gilas in Dubai, so these are more general thoughts. That said, I was thoroughly impressed with the team’s performance, and like any other Pinoy basketball fan, I am hopeful that this is the start of the team’s steady climb.

Anyway, some of my thoughts, in bullets:

Rajko Toroman is preparing his team to defend against bigger teams, and so far it’s working. It shouldn’t come as a surprise though, because the team did well too against bigger teams in the Fiba-Asia Champions Cup last year even when CJ Giles went down. Does anyone else find it funny that the strategy works for 6’11” American imports but not for 6’3” PBA forwards? Good thing Gilas won’t have to play against Richard Yee or Chad Alonzo in the Asian Games.

Mac Baracael was the breakout star for Gilas in the tournament, especially in the last few games. I’m curious to know, from those who’ve been watching, what position he has been playing. Back in the Champions Cup, he saw a lot of action as an undersized power forward and stepped up big-time. Interestingly, Toroman’s wish list before the Dubai tournament if he had a choice of PBA players consisted of Kelly Williams, Gabe Norwood, Jared Dillinger, and Arwind Santos, all of whom play Baracael’s small forward position. I wonder if the list still looks like that today, or if he plans to go small-ball with a wingman playing the four-spot.

Curiously, Toroman has name-dropped Asi Taulava in interviews after the Dubai tournament as someone who could fill in the team’s needs. Interesting.

Chris Tiu has been quite a surprise. He’s really, actually good. He’s bulked up, and he’s surprisingly athletic—although PBA 2-guards still gave him a lot of trouble. It’s not as much of a problem against Middle Eastern club teams, who probably don’t run as many isolations and pick-and-rolls for their shooting guards. He gets a lot of cheap points in the Gilas half-court set, not just off jumpers, but backdoor cuts, screen-and-rolls, etc. He’s not a superstar, but he’s mind-numbingly solid. He’s just so steady, which was probably why he kept playing well in the PBA even as the rest of his teammates were struggling. I apologize to Tiu for calling him the next Alfie Almario.

(This was actually originally part of an email exchange with Rafe Bartholomew, who suggested the title: “Giving credit where credit is Tiu.” Rafe’s book on Philippine basketball, “Pacific Rims” is now available for pre-order on Amazon.)

Is Jayvee Casio the Franz Pumaren to Mark Barroca’s Hector Calma? And is this girl the Christine Jacob in this analogy? Does that make JR Cawaling the Elmer Reyes of this team? One thing I’m sure of: Magi Sison is definitely not the next Yves Dignadice.

As Bill Simmons would say, the turd in the punch bowl is definitely Jamal Sampson, who has reportedly been kicked off the team. I thought it would be funny to go back and read Quinito Henson’s series of stories building up Sampson’s credentials before joining Gilas. And you know what? They’re fucking HILARIOUS.

Comments (11) | Trackbacks (4)
Tags: Andy Mark Barroca, Basketball, Chris Tiu, CJ Giles, Jamal Sampson, Jayvee Casio, Rafe Bartholomew, Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Basketball Team

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Comments

#1 spectator_00_ on 2010-01-27 10:27 (Reply)

nice.

regarding toroman's taulava name-dropping, i don't take it as hinting he wants taulava. as meek and humble as toroman appears to me most of the time, i think he's saying had he handled either chot's 2007 team or guiao's 2009 team (both of which having taulava in the line-up), he could have brought them to the finals. interesting indeed.

#1.1 jaemark on 2010-01-30 20:07 (Reply)

you think toroman is meek and humble? i'd like to have some of the drugs that you're sniffing.

#1.1.1 spectator_00_ on 2010-02-01 11:00 (Reply)

he certainly appears to be one.
especially when juxtaposed to your idol yeng guiao.

#2 trix on 2010-01-28 00:19 (Reply)

Its really interesting how this Gilas team got destroyed by most PBA teams back here but is showing a lot of promise against middle east teams. Im one of the guys that have been questioning the inclusion of Tiu (and Casio up to some extent) but these guys have proven that they can matchup with the big boys. I thought Toroman made a big mistake passing up on a guy like Chris Ross but Tiu and Casio might be the right guards for him. They're just the type of players that fit so well in Toroman's system. A friend once told me that it will be difficult for Gilas to incorporate PBA players into the team because the pros will have a "you need me bitches" attitude and I guess you can say the same for imports. Yes, an import that isn't willing to play hard should not be included on the team but is the SBP and Toroman being too impatient? Was Giles such a BI? Maybe Sampson knee hurts so much. Its interesting to note that Toroman didn't have much involvement in the selection process before although he still had the final say if the Eala's selected import is good enough for the team. Maybe a European import? I would love to see Dillenger and Mac play the forwards for Gilas. They're energy exemplifies the Filipino brand of play imo. Its still hard to imagine if the PBA will eventually lend some of their players but Dillenger is the most realistic pickup right now because of MVP's ownership.How about Toroman saying Aguilar was the final piece of Gilas during the BK-Gilas tug o' war and yet he hasn't seen a lot of action. haha

#2.1 jaemark on 2010-01-30 20:08 (Reply)

ang haba ng comment mo ha. update mo na yung blog mo!

#2.1.1 j_myxx | Patay ang Butiki on 2010-01-31 16:07 (Reply)

haha. onga. blog post na yan eh.

what do you guys think of taulava though? assuming he's allowed to play for gilas. how good would he be for this group of guys?

#3 gilasinsider on 2010-02-01 23:36 (Reply)

let me just make random comments:

first, its really different playing in the pba adjusting to the PBA refs vs playing under the SBP referees which are the FIBA sanctioned ones. In practically all their practice games which were officiated by the FIBA refs, they beat all the PBA teams except for Alaska, even with only 6-8 players at times and without Japeth. And i guess playing in the international stage, representing your country is much more meaningful then playing in PBA games. Also, with regards to that BK game which you were probably referring to, they probably figured that their opponents were out there to hurt them and not just to play them. that makes a big difference

Mac Baracael has been playing at the four position most of the time and he has been way more effective there when compared to Japeth. Japeth hasn't been rebounding too well and has been making good decisions. Plus he has not been playing good defense.

As for the PBA players, no coach Raijko is not interested in Asi at all. He was simply using him as a measure for the size that he needs. the only PBA player that he really wants (which i think finally came out publicly today) is kelly williams because he would be a perfect fit for the 4 position because of his rebounding and shooting.

As for the guards, Toroman is completely happy with all of them and he is just waiting for Lutz to come then his lineup for guards will be complete. I know a lot of people dont like Tiu, but when he averages the most minutes on the team, that says alot for a guy who is so short. Watching their games, it would seem that it is his fault when the guards score but truth is, he does everything coach Raijko asks him to on defense. he follows their defensive philosophy to the letter and often enough it is due to his teammates' mistakes in following their help side rules on defense that lead his man to score. He is just the leader of the team and sticks his team together. A true role player indeed.

Baracael has been great and Jvee Casio has been very good too. Barroca is actually not playing so well anymore and is getting berated at times for not passing the ball and setting the plays up properly.

Ps. what is this book of Rafe bartholomew wrote? there is a chapter about tiu or something? let me know please! thanks!

You probably know who i am anyway!

#3.1 jaemark on 2010-02-01 23:57 (Reply)

of course i know who you are... ayos sa comment, ang haba! welcome!

rafe came to manila as a fulbright scholar a few years ago to spend a year in the country writing about basketball. he ended up staying three years, totally immersing himself in philippine basketball culture. he was the guy who wrote about the atene0-la salle rivalry in the new york times.

while i don't know exactly what's going to be in the book, i think it'll be about pinoy basketball at every level, from the tsinelas leagues to college to the pros. i'm not sure how tiu there'll be in the book, but i think anyone who ever loved pinoy basketball would have something for them in it.

#3.1.1 gilasinsider on 2010-02-02 00:03 (Reply)

ohh. yeah i know that guy. haha ive seen him at games too. too bad i dont really order books online. haha oh well.

i always am hesitant to share information about the team cause it would be obvious where the source would come from and all that! haha i might get into trouble too.

#3.1.1.1 jaemark on 2010-02-02 00:08 (Reply)

haha, you're always welcome to share your thoughts here, whether they be inside information or personal opinion. and i'm sure the smart gilas fans who visit the blog will also appreciate it.

#4 Joey_Escalera on 2010-02-10 15:36 (Reply)

This only proves that Rajko Toroman is a great coach.