Upbeat on Gilas chances Sporting ChanCe
It won’t be easy making the cut to qualify for the FIBA World Cup in China on Aug. 31-Sept. 15 but Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao is optimistic that the Philippines will advance out of the sixth and final window of eliminations. His basis for the optimism? Andray Blatche is back and in fighting form.
Since Blatche’s suspension, the Philippines has posted a dismal 1-3 record in the fourth and fifth qualifying windows to drop to fourth place in its group with a 5-5 record behind Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4). If the Philippines winds up tied with Japan for third place, Gilas will clinch due to the quotient system. That’s because the Philippines beat Japan, 77-71, in the first window and 89-84 in the second. A deadlock will happen if the Philippines wins one of its next two games and Japan loses its last two, both finishing at 6-6. It will also happen if the Philippines sweeps its last two outings and Japan wins one of its last two, both ending up at 7-5. That’s assuming Iran holds on to second place and doesn’t mess up.
If the Philippines winds up fourth in its group, it must show a better record than the fourth placer in the other group to qualify. The other group’s standings are New Zealand (9-1), South Korea (8-2), automatic qualifier (as host nation) China (6-4), Lebanon (6-4) and Jordan (5-5). Since China is an outright qualifier, it doesn’t figure in the standings, meaning Lebanon would be effectively in third place and Jordan in fourth. In this case, the Philippines’ record must be better than Jordan’s for Gilas to qualify.
Seven teams will qualify out of the Asia/Pacific region in the World Cup, eight including host China. For the first time, the World Cup will bring in 32 teams from the previous 24. Australia and New Zealand are joining the qualifiers from Asia/Pacific for the first time. As expected, they’ve dominated their qualifying groups. New Zealand’s only loss was an 86-80 decision to South Korea in the first window while Australia’s only setback was a 79-78 squeaker to Japan in the third. Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have now qualified for the World Cup, regardless of how they perform in the sixth window.
Gilas will leave Manila for Doha on Feb. 16 but without Blatche. It was agreed that Blatche would join Gilas in Doha that same day after playing two games for Tianjin in the Chinese league. Blatche arrived in Manila last Friday from China then returns to the Mainland on Feb. 11 to play for Tianjin against Fujian on Feb. 13 and against Shandong on Feb. 15. Since enlisted by Tianjin last December, Blatche has averaged 19.7 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists, shooting 51.2 percent from two-point distance, 42.1 percent from threepoint range and 70.2 percent from the line, over 13 games. In every contest, Blatche has knocked down at least one triple and in two outings, he buried five each. Last Jan. 31, he compiled 27 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals in a game against Guangsha. Blatche also sizzled with 3-of-7 triples.
Guiao said Blatche is in a lot better shape than he was during the third window. With Blatche in harness, Christian Standhardinger won’t make the trip to Doha and Astana. The Philippines will play Qatar on Feb. 21 and Kazakhstan on Feb. 24. According to team manager Butch Antonio, the team will fly from Doha straight to Astana. Gilas will arrive in Kazakhstan one day before the game.
Standhardinger is classified as a naturalized import by FIBA like Blatche even if he’s half-Filipino by blood. It’s a strange rule that FIBA places more importance to place of birth than blood lineage or ethnic origin. Fil-Ams like Stanley Pringle, Chris Newsome and Chris Banchero are also classified as naturalized imports because they were issued their Filipino passports after turning 16.
In Guiao’s pool of 14 for the sixth window, Standhardinger is included as an insurance back-up. But because of his situation, he’s excused from attending Gilas practices. Standhardinger was allowed to focus on his PBA team San Miguel Beer. “Christian knows his situation,” said Gilas chief scout and assistant coach Ryan Gregorio. “He’s focusing on San Miguel and it’s no issue with coach Yeng. No problem.”
Announcing a lean pool of 14 from the start instead of a bigger group turned out to be a positive thing. It’s difficult when star PBA players know some of them will be cut if it’s a big pool and there’s unnecessary anxiety. This time, 12 of the 14 players in the pool were assured of their slots at least for the first game against Qatar from the onset since Standhardinger and R. R. Pogoy won’t suit up. Pogoy will be eligible only for the Kazakhstan contest after serving out his five-game FIBA suspension stemming from the Australia brawl last July.
The 12 playing against Qatar are Jayson Castro, Mark Barroca, Paul Lee, Scottie Thompson, Marcio Lassiter, Gabe Norwood, Troy Rosario, Japeth Aguilar, Poy Erram, JuneMar Fajardo, Raymond Almazan and Blatche. The last two in the pool are Standhardinger as back-up and Pogoy. When Pogoy becomes eligible for the Kazakhstan game, Guiao will decide whether to stick with the 12-man cast against Qatar or replace someone with Pogoy.