More revelations in Jones Cup
There were many Gilas revelations in the 39th Jones Cup that ended in Taipei last Sunday. Kiefer Ravena rediscovered himself as an astute point guard and averaged 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists while hitting 87.5 percent from the line. Bobby Ray Parks shone in defense against Iran and could blossom as coach Chot Reyes’ chief stopper from positions one to three. He limited Iran’s Navid Rezaeifar to 11 points, down from his average of 19.5. Parks, however, has to work on his three-point shooting as he was 0-of-9 in six games.
Christian Standhardinger proved to be a vital cog in the Gilas machine, averaging 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds. The 6-8 Fil-German stood his ground against roughhousing bullies, played physical, hustled and watched his teammates’ back throughout the gruelling nine-game, nine-day grind. Early in the tournament, Standhardinger took a tongue-lashing from Reyes for playing out of the system. He was even sent off the court for deliberately bumping into an Iraqi player on the way to the bench for a timeout, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul. Under FIBA rules, an unsportsmanlike foul carries a penalty of two free throws and possession. It was a learning experience for Standhardinger who has a tendency to bring up the ball after rebounding and as a result, opens himself up to a trap by pesky defenders looking to steal from a big guy trying to play point guard.
Carl Bryan Cruz reaffirmed his role as a crack set three-point shooter, hitting 40 percent from distance. Cruz is a stocky 6-3 two or three who has the body to make life difficult for smaller wingmen. Import Mike Myers and Cruz had the most starts, eight, of any Gilas player. Cruz shot in double figures thrice in the tournament.
Myers had a slow start, scoring only seven points in the loss to Canada and nine in the win over Chinese Taipei Blue. But he came on strong in the succeeding games, compiling double doubles in five outings. Myers isn’t a dominant player. He has no perimeter game. He’s not a typical go-to guy in the mold of a Justin Brownlee or Eugene Phelps. Worse, he’s not gifted with good hands and he has difficulty finishing close to the basket under pressure. But with Gilas, Myers was the perfect import. He gave the opportunity for his teammates to shine because of his limitations. If Myers were a Brownlee or a Phelps, maybe Standhardinger wouldn’t have shone as brightly as he did.
Matthew Wright averaged 14 points and connected on 43.1 percent from beyond the arc to emerge as Gilas’ top scorer. Wright hit 25-of-58 threes compared to 17-of-35 two-pointers, establishing himself as the team’s deadliest perimeter option. He’s a shoo-in for the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon and if Allein Maliksi is in the lineup, Reyes will enjoy the luxury of playing two fire-breathing zone-busters.
Jio Jalalon could be the next Jayson Castro as he blurred his way to averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in Taipei. However, Jalalon has to improve on his stroke as he hit only 1-of-7 threes and 60 percent from the line. The quickstepping Star Hotshots guard’s ability to push the ball will come in handy in Lebanon. He’s tireless and relentless. Jalalon is a slippery ankle-breaking penetrator and if only he has a perimeter upside, there’s little he can’t do on offense.
Like Jalalon, R. R. Pogoy has to focus on improving his foul shooting (he hit only 54.6 percent) but was respectable from three-point range (12-of-39 for 30.8 percent). Pogoy averaged 8.8 points and as expected, played tough on both ends. With Ravena now a lock at point guard, Pogoy can concentrate on his off-guard duties. Reyes likes Pogoy’s lock-down defensive skills and he has the size to cross-match up against smaller point guards.
Kobe Paras, the youngest Gilas player at 19, is still a work in progress at the senior level. He played in only five games, starting once, and had difficulty adapting to Reyes’ system. Paras is an amazing basketball talent and because he saw limited action with the Creighton varsity in Division I last season, can’t wait to unravel. He’s impatient and he wants to do so many things on the floor right away, often leading to poor decisions. There’s also the pressure of doing spectacular things because the fans almost demand it. Once, Paras broke away from a slam against Iraq but that was his only field goal in the contest. Back spasms kept Paras out of the lineup in the last three Jones Cup games. He tallied a total of 10 points in five appearances. Paras will get better for sure and eventually adjust to Reyes’ style. The experience of playing in the coming Southeast Asian Games will trigger a faster maturing process.