Gilas takes a bow
PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa is giving Cebu fans a big treat at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City tonight. He spoke with Gilas head coach Chot Reyes to rearrange the lineups for the AllStar Game and they agreed to test the final 12 playing at the SEABA Championships here on May 12-18 against the Visayas selection.
Last Friday, Reyes announced the Gilas roster for the SEABA tournament – Andray Blatche, JuneMar Fajardo, Jayson Castro, Japeth Aguilar, Allein Maliksi, Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, Raymond Almazan, Matthew Wright, R. R. Pogoy, Jio Jalalon and Troy Rosario.
Reyes told The STar yesterday he’ll suit up 11 players since Blatche is still out of town. Blatche is expected in Manila early this week. He took a brief rest in Atlanta after leading the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to the Chinese Basketball Association title last month. In the playoffs, Xinjiang compiled a 11-2 record and blanked Guangdong in the best-of-seven title series. Blatche averaged 22.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.5 blocked shots and 29.1 minutes in 37 games for the Flying Tigers. He shot 59.8 percent from two-point range, 36.1 percent from beyond the arc and 71.9 percent from the line. From all indications, Blatche is coming fit and battle-ready.
The PBA Visayas All-Stars will be coached by Barangay Ginebra’s Tim Cone. Fajardo and Romeo were initially tapped to play for the All-Stars but Narvasa made the late change to line them up with Gilas. Since the final 12 were named in Lucena last Friday, Narvasa said it was the perfect opportunity for Gilas to come together in a formal debut tonight. PBA director for communications Willie Marcial said the tweak will introduce the new Gilas cast to the public for the first time even without Blatche.
L. A. Tenorio and Rabeh Al-Hussaini were tapped to take over the slots of Fajardo and Romeo with the All-Stars. Another recruit is J. R. Quinahan, a Cebu native who will fill in for the injured Aldrech Ramos. Cone’s other All-Stars are James Yap, Joe De Vance, Jeff Chan, Chris Ross, Chris Ellis, Dondon Hontiveros, Ronald Tubid, Asi Taulava and Jericho Cruz.
Narvasa, Marcial and 10 others from the PBA office left Lucena after the AllStar Game at about 11 last Friday night. They went straight to the airport to catch the 4 a.m. flight to Cebu. The Gilas squad took separate flights out with the first group leaving at 11 a.m. and the second at night. The All-Stars flew out at 11 yesterday morning.
It’s been a gruelling grind for the PBA staff which left Manila last Monday and will return home tomorrow. Marcial said nobody had a chance to take a long sleep from Lucena to Cebu, settling for a quick nap on the flight. The first stop on AllStar Week was Cagayan de Oro for the first game last Wednesday then Lucena last Friday. Cebu will be the climax of the week-long festivities and it’s fitting that 11 of the 12 Gilas players will see action on the same side against the Visayas All-Stars.
In the Cagayan de Oro and Lucena games, the Gilas lineups were topsyturvy as players in the pool suited up for the All-Stars if they were from the region. In Cagayan de Oro, Rosario and Jalalon played for Mindanao. In Lucena, Abueva, Castro and Aguilar were on the Luzon squad. But in Cebu, they’re all coming together to make a stand against the Visayas All-Stars.
The Cagayan de Oro game was a thriller and it wound up a 114-114 standoff. Wright led Gilas with 22 points, including 4-of-5 triples. His performance was a strong argument to crack the final 12. Six other Gilas players scored in double figures, indicating balanced offense. Romeo erupted for 18 points even as he was 0-of-7 from three-point distance. Fajardo had 14 points, Pogoy 14, Carl Bryan Cruz 11, L. A. Revilla 10 and Mike Tolomia 10.
Rosario paced the Mindanao All-Stars with 28 points, including 5-of-8 triples. Jalalon compiled six points, five rebounds and four assists. Gilas had more fastbreak points, 26-14, and more points in the paint, 68-60.
In Lucena, Aguilar had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Abueva 16 points and Castro, two points, three rebounds and five dimes for Luzon. Six Gilas players hit twin digits with Jonathan Grey sizzling for 19 and Tolomia contributing 15. Cruz shot 13, Rosario 12 and Almazan 10. Gilas held Luzon to 17 points in the final quarter and won, 122-111. Gilas buried 17 triples to Luzon’s nine and shot 47 percent from the field compared to Luzon’s 42 percent. Luzon led for 33 minutes and sat on a 17-point cushion in the third period before collapsing down the stretch.