Gilas Pilipinas Final Twelve with Clarkson at cornerstone
A LEGIT NBA talent proud of his Filipino heritage. Twin skyscrapers seasoned by two previous FIBA World Cup caps and a pair of towering youth standouts blazing their trail. A do-it-all guard from the never-say-die school of hoops.
Gilas Pilipinas is pinning its hopes on a combo of experience and youth and lots of puso (heart) and tremendous work ethic in battling the best in the global hoopfest on home ground beginning tomorrow.
Jordan Clarkson, the Fil-Am star from the Utah Jazz who could have played as a local if not for technicalities in FIBA eligibility rules, provides the cornerstone of the squad in his maiden World Cup foray.
Behemoths June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar, both hardened by tough battles in the 2014 and 2019 editions, man the fort for Chot Reyes’ squad. This time, they have at their side 7-foot-3 NBA hopeful Kai Sotto and athletic 6-foot-10 forward AJ Edu, formerly from the successful Gilas youth program.
Playmaker Kiefer Ravena and gunners RR Pogoy and CJ Perez are back for a second tour of duty while PBA Season 46 MVP Scottie Thompson, regarded as the new face of Barangay Ginebra, lead the debuting Pinoy dribblers.
Multi-talented Dwight Ramos, the only Gilas mainstay to play in all the six qualifying windows, is also set for his baptism of fire in the Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 WC as do athletic wing Jamie Malonzo and high-flying Rhenz Abando.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes finalized the lineup last night ahead of the tournament’s technical meeting.
Chris Newsome, who was still present in Tuesday’s training session, was the last cut in the 16-man pool. He joined Thirdy Ravena, Calvin Oftana and Ray Parks on the sidelines.
Mr. Reyes has time and again cited compatibility with the system and the team members as the primary consideration in determining the Gilas 12.
“Fit with the way we want to play and fit with each other’s style of play and more than anything, I guess really the players who we feel give us the best chance to pull off a victory,” he said.
“We’re preparing the best we can and we’re working. There’s no lack of work ethic on this team (and) we’re all working. We have all the tools, we have the size, we have the talent and so it’s just a matter of bringing it all together and play one really, really good game,” said assistant coach Tim Cone.
Gilas’ defy-the-odds mission begins tomorrow against the Dominican Republic, a high-ranked team from the Caribbean headlined by NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. — Olmin Leyba
