Iran Downs Gilas 81-73. Three Thoughts On the Game.

It was a well played game by Gilas but Iran's considerable size on the wings as well as its late barrage of threes proved to be the big difference today.

Here are three thoughts on the game:

Thought #1 Standhardinger is the best big man Gilas has.

Yes he is. I know some people will continue to tout JuneMar Fajardo as our premier big man but I dare anybody to look at their body of work for Gilas and still say that Fajardo is the better Gilas player. 

Take tonight's game. I know there was no Haddadi but Iran's big men were still, well, big. And skilled. And yet Standhardinger made them pay dearly, socring 30points and grabbing 12 rebounds. That is a monster game, of superstar proportions, especially on the FIBA stage.

I dare say Standhardinger is even better than present day Andray Blatche, who seems to have lost his shooting and playmaking ability quite suddenly in the last two years (maybe his weight/conditioning has something to do with it?)

And while Fajardo is still the logical starting center for Gilas, make no mistake. Christian Standhardinger is the more impactful big man.

Thought #2 Cabagnot and Thompson have earned their spots in future Gilas teams.

It's time to say goodbye to Kevin Alas and Baser Amer, as Alex Cabagnot and Scottie Thompson have proven that they are superior choices to either player.

Given all we know that about the politics surrounding the SBP, the PBA, and Gilas, we can now surmise that the choices of Alas and Amer, who are both good players, may also have been because they belonged to MVP-owned squads. 

Not that the SBP, Gilas management, or Coach Chot were playing favorite. Only that Cabagnot, Thompson and even players like Lassiter and Sangalang didn't seem to be available then. 

And now, that those Cabagnot and Thompson have been made available, Amer and Alas don't stand a chance.

Thought #3 Allein Malicsi may just have joined the short list of potential Gabe Norwood successors.

Malicsi was that player who I thought just didn't fit any role on Gilas. He wasn't a 7 footer, he wasn't a deadshot, he wasn't a playmaker, he wasn't a defense specialist...the list goes on and on. 

And maybe part of that image I had with Malicsi was due to his lack of playing time with Gilas and one-dimensional role with both the Purefoods Hotshots and the Blackwater Elite. 

Tonight though, he showed just how much he can contribute without needing to shoot or hog the ball. He did quite well in guarding both Jamshidi and Kazemi, two mobile, sweet shooting Iranian forwards who are both bigger than Malicsi and showed he could play some point-forward too.

And that's important because we are still in search for the next Gabe Norwood, a versatile, athletic, speedy, wily, do-it-all 3-and-D lock down player. The closest we have right now are are Marcio Lassiter and Matthew Wright. Allein Malicsi has just joined that list.

Which means we may not see Calvin Abueva or Carl Bryan Cruz back in the Gilas uniform, as those three, as well as a more mature Kobe Paras and Carl Tamayo may eventually take over that slot.

That being said, Our next game versus Qatar should be very interesting. For now, I leave you with the thought that Gilas is once again in good hands.