Members of the Gilas Pilipinas team react after winning the MVP Cup in Manila on Sept. 13, 2015. (From L) Terrence Romeo (partly hidden), Sonny Thoss, Andray Blatche, Asi Taulava, Marc Pingris, Calvin Abueva (partly hidden) and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine men's national basketball squad, will be the oldest of the 16 Asian teams that will be slugging it out in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship that unfolds Wednesday in Changsha, China. However, the Filipinos are considered a strong contender for the crown due to the presence of one world-class player — naturalized Filipino and former NBA star Andray Blatche — and two new explosive recruits, Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva. The 12 players on the Gilas roster have an average age of 31, the oldest being Asi Taulava at 42, official FIBA Asia statistics show. The Filipino-Tongan center will be the oldest player in the Asian qualifier for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Gilas Pilipinas remains at No. 3 in the FIBA Asia power rankings heading into Wednesday's opening game against 12th-ranked Palestine. Although Gilas was formed just a month ago and had little time to prepare for the tournament, the Filipinos remain one of the top contenders for the crown. They stamped their class in the 2015 Jones Cup, where they placed runner-up to champion Iran. Gilas then swept last week's MVP Cup, winning over three teams, including New Zealand's Wellington Saints and the Chinese Taipei national team, both of whom the Filipinos also defeated in the Jones Cup. Much of the Philippines' hopes lie on Blatche who was the top rebounder (13.8 boards) in last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup and the second top scorer (21.2 points per game), next only to Jose Barea (22 ppg) of Puerto Rico. Blatche is also coming off a great season in the Chinese Basketball League. However, Blatche skipped the Jones Cup tournament following a death in his family in the United States. He resumed playing with Gilas only two weeks ago during the MVP Cup where he showed some rustiness owing to his extra poundage and due to his long layoff. But the former Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets star has steadily shown signs of regaining his deadly form since then. If he dominates the FIBA Asia championship, he could very well lead Gilas to the final, either against China or Iran, with a good chance of grabbing the only ticket for the Rio Olympics. Blatche is in good company with veterans Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Taulava and prized newcomer Abueva manning the paint. Gilas also has an explosive backcourt composed of scoring leader Romeo, Jayson Castro, Gabe Norwood and Dondon Hontiveros. Gilas is considered one of the deepest teams participating in the Asia basketball wars even without the presence of marquee PBA players June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Marcio Lassiter and Paul Lee. However, the defending champion Iran remains the team to beat in the tournament, owing to its intact and battle-tested core of players. Although the Iranians are younger than the Filipinos and some other teams, they are way ahead in experience with players competing in international tournaments for almost a decade now. China, one of the youngest teams in the tournament, boasts of four players standing seven feet and above. Its oldest player is comebacking 35-year-old guard Liu Wei, veteran of the 2002 World Championship and the last three Olympics. Gilas Pilipinas are expected to dominate its three opponents in Group B — Palestine, Kuwait and Hong Kong. But the Filipinos are expected to meet tougher competition in the second round when they are expected to go up against powerhouse Iran.
