For years, quickness has been the Philippine team’s calling card when it comes to international basketball competitions.
But the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team that will represent the country in the FIBA Asia Championship in August will have another feature: size.
Joining naturalized 6-foot-10 center Marcus Douthit in the national pool are 7-foot NLEX center Greg Slaughter from the PBA D-League, 6-foot-10 Petron rookie June Mar Fajardo of Petron, 6-foot-9 forward Japeth Aguilar of GlobalPort, and 6-foot-7 center Sonny Thoss, making the pool easily the tallest Philippine team ever.
Tall, athletic forwards Kelly Williams, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Jared Dillinger of Talk ‘N Text, Marc Pingris of San Mig Coffee, and Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine provide additional ceiling for the team, without forsaking the speed that had been the trademark of Team Pilipinas.
Guards Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, and Larry Fonacier of Talk ‘N Text, LA Tenorio of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Gary David of GlobalPort, and Jeff Chan of Rain or Shine round out the selection.
But more than size, Reyes said the team’s international experience would be key.
“I think ang bago lang dyan are Fajardo and Pingris. Most of them played in elite international tournaments,” said Reyes.
“When we participated in 2007, halos lahat wala pang experience sa FIBA Asia. This time we have not only the experienced players, we are assembling the tallest team we ever had.”
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