SEABA vets, Norwood, Belo to form Gilas in FIBA Asia Cup?
Gabe Norwood and Mac Belo
Gilas coach Chot Reyes said he's got a lineup in mind, but will wait for the completion of their Jones Cup campaign before announcing the roster that goes to the Asian meet where it battles China, Qatar and Iraq in the group play.
“You’ve seen our lineup for the Southeast Asian Games so it’s easy to figure who’ll make it (to the FIBA Asia Cup),” said Reyes.
“Mahirap mag-overlap (It’s hard for a player to play in two tournaments with overlapping schedule),” added Reyes, practically ruling out a player doing duty in both the Asia Cup (August 8-20) and in the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur slated August 19-30.
Named to the SEAG lineup earlier are Troy Rosario, Baser Amer, Almond Vosotros, Kevin Ferrer, Kiefer Ravena, Ray Parks, Mike Tolomia, Von Pessumal, Carl Bryan Cruz, Raymar Jose, Kobe Paras and Christian Standhardinger.
So it’s unlikely that Rosario, a SEABA veteran, will also be lined up for the Asian meet.
With Amer, Ferrer, Parks, Ravena, Tolomia, Cruz, Paras and Standhardinger also going to the KL Games, the remaining available players from the 24-man list for the Lebanon meet are other SEABA veterans Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Raymond Almazan, Allein Maliksi, Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, Jayson Castro, Jio Jalalon, Matthew Wright and RR Pogoy plus Norwood, Belo, Norbert Torres and Kevin Alas.
Only three are missing both the SEAG and the Asian joust.
Deadline for submission of the Final 12 to the Lebanon Asian joust is July 25 or two days after the conclusion of the Jones Cup.
Will Norwood fit in considering his absence from the SEABA Championship to the Jones Cup?
“Beterano yon eh (He’s a veteran),” said Reyes of the Rain or Shine combo player.
For Reyes, the 2012 Jones Cup triumph of the Philippines is a testament to what veteran players can do even with a short period of preparation.
“Both the 2012 team and our team now both came here with a two-week preparation. The big difference is the experience factor,” said Reyes.
“We had Marcus Douthit compared to Mike Myers now. They have a lot of difference in experience factor. Then we also had LA Tenorio, Sonny Thoss, Jeff Chan, Sol Mercado, Larry Fonacier and Norwood. They were all veterans. So konting usapan lang, konting adjustment, nagkakaintindihan na,” Reyes pointed out.
“What we have now is a lot different. They have the same amount of practices, but when we try in-game adjustments, they labor. It’s difficult because they’re not the veterans that we had before,” Reyes added.
It’s easy to understand Reyes wants tested warriors for the FIBA Asia Cup.
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