Gilas, Boomers to part ways
It will be a battle of two unbeaten teams when Australia hosts the Philippines in the second home-andaway window of the FIBA Asia/Pacific qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup at the 7,500-seat Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne on Feb. 22. Only five of 16 teams are undefeated in the FIBA Asia/Pacific zone after the first round. The others are China, Jordan and Kazakhstan.
The 16 contenders are split into four groups of four teams each. Group B is the only bracket with two unbeaten teams but that will end after the Boomers play Gilas. For Gilas, it’s a golden opportunity to pull the rug from under Australia before coach Andrej Lemanis brings in his NBA reinforcements for the rematch in the third window at the Philippine Arena on July 2.
With the NBA season ongoing, Lemanis is unable to employ the services of the likes of the Boston Celtics’ Aron Baynes, San Antonio Spurs’ Patty Mills, Milwaukee Bucks’ Matthew Dellavedova, Los Angeles Lakers’ Andrew Bogut, Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, Utah Jazz’ Joe Ingles and Dante Exum and Charlotte Hornets’ Mangok Mathiang. But when the third window begins, the NBA players will be available and for one, Dellavedova has declared he’s playing for the Boomers against Gilas.
At the moment, the Boomers’ roster lists standouts from Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). The players include veterans from the US college circuit, including 6-3 Mitchell McCarron and 6-9 Nick Kay of Metro State and 6-10 Daniel Kickert and 6-11 Matt Hodgson of St. Mary’s College. Mills and Dellavedova also played at St. Mary’s, alma mater of Ali Peek and former PBA imports Diamon Simpson and Mike Rozenski.
The top three scorers on Australia’s squad that took the FIBA Asia Cup title in Lebanon last August were the same top three scorers on the team that swept the first window of the Asia/Pacific qualifiers. They were Kickert, 6-1 Jason Cadee and 6-6 Mitch Creek. It’s not certain if Creek will be able to play against Gilas next month as he was recently diagnosed with a muscle tear in his hamstring.
In the first window, Kickert averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists while Creek averaged 11 points, a teamhigh 7.5 rebounds and a team-high 22.1 minutes. Cadee averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 5.5 assists. Australia was devastating in the first window, demolishing Chinese-Taipei on the road, 104-66 and Japan, 82-58 in Adelaide. In contrast, the Philippines was pushed to the limit in upending Japan, 77-71, in Tokyo and Chinese-Taipei, 90-85, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. If the numbers are an indication, Australia is the odds-on favorite to beat Gilas on Feb. 22, with or without NBA veterans in the Boomers’ cast.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes has submitted a 16-man lineup to the PBA for approval to enlist for the second window. The list includes Terrence Romeo who has begged off from joining the team as he continues to undergo therapy for a badly bruised right knee. The 11 local players whom Reyes deployed for the first window are in the roster, namely, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, JuneMar Fajardo, Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Gabe Norwood, Troy Rosario, Jayson Castro, Matthew Wright, Allein Maliksi and R. R. Pogoy. Also in the pool are Mac Belo, Raymond Almazan, Carl Bryan Cruz and Jio Jalalon. A slot will be left open for either Andray Blatche or Christian Standhardinger as the team’s naturalized import. Reyes’ picks were cleared to play for Gilas by the PBA in a memo signed by OIC commissioner Willie Marcial last Jan. 4.
The first Gilas practice of the year was held at the Meralco Gym last Jan. 8. The pool will get together for workouts with Reyes every Monday until possibly, the last two weeks before the start of the second window when practices will likely be called daily.
For the second window, Gilas will host Japan at the MOA Arena on Feb. 25. The venue will be the Philippine Arena when the Philippines welcomes Australia for the third window on July 2. “By playing in three venues – the Smart Araneta Coliseum (for the first window), MOA Arena and the Philippine Arena, this will serve as a dry run of our hosting of the FIBA World Cup 2023,” SPB executive director Sonny Barrios said. “The three venues were presented as part of the country’s 2023 bid, and we get to showcase not only our facilities but our capabilities to the world.”
Lemanis isn’t taking any chances against Gilas. “We know the difference a home crowd makes and I’m looking forward to playing in front of our fans in Melbourne,” he said.