And while there were some who hoped that PBA players whose team would no longer be playing in the PBA Philippine Cup post season could join the team, the SBP has instead decided to field an all amateur pool.
The pool includes the original Gilas draftees in Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte and Allyn Bulanadi as well as UP stalwarts Kobe Paras, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano and Jaydee Tungcab, Ateneo standouts Dave Ildefonso, Will Navarro and Dwight Ramos as well as Angelo Kouame, bidding to be a naturalized player for Gilas, DLSU star Justin Baltazar, and finally, San Beda's Calvin Oftana and Kenmark Carino.
This lineup is surprising in many aspects but we'll discuss the three most obvious surprises.
Surprise #1 The All Amateur Lineup
With several PBA players already available to play for Gilas, like Kiefer Ravena, CJ Perez, and Christian Standhardinger, it was a major surprise to many that the SBP decided to go with an all amateur pool. Granted, the SBP is thinking long-term, with development as its endgame but they really couldn't fit in a couple of PBA players to shore up some obvious weaknesses of this pool? One glaring weakness is at center, where we have Isaac Go and Justine Baltazar, neither of whom is a natural center, and Kenmark Carino, who has yet to breakout, even in the NCAA. Wouldn't it be nice to have even just Standhardinger, given that Kouame is unlikely to receive his Filipino citizenship any time soon?
Surprise #2 The Other Guys
Most of the players named to the 16 man pool are no-brainers and while we understand the need for glue guys and role players, some of the picks are still headscratchers. Part of this list would be the likes of Mike Nieto, Will Navarro, Jaydee Tungcab, and Kenmark Carino. I am well aware of Big Mike Nieto's gallant contributions to past Batang Gilas teams (where he was the Nieto who starred, not Matt) and you can't teach Carino's height but still, their college performances barely even made them impactful reserves. Will Navarro and Jaydee Tungcab are versatile wingmen who will make a living on their defense but the big question is, can they make the transition to being 3-and-D guys?
Surprise #3 The Missing Young Bigs
They are undoubtedly the next BIG thing in Philippine basketball and yet are conspicuously missing at a time when they are needed the most. Yes, I'm talking about Kai Sotto and AJ Edu, who are both int he States for different commitments. Sotto is training with the G-League while Edu is back to training with the Toledo Rockets but neither of their teams have a set schedule as of yet. What is holding them back from taking a couple of weeks to reinforce this young Gilas team?
Imagine a 7-2 Sotto at center, a 6-10 Edu at PF, a 6-6 Kobe Paras at small forward, a 6-2 Allyn Bulanadi at shooting guard, and a 6-5 Dwight Ramos at point guard. Now imagine rotating a pair of 6-8 big men in Isaac Go and Justine Baltazar for Sotto and Edu, while a pair of 6'5 wingmen in Calvin Oftana and Javi Gomez de Liano fill in for Paras. Matt Nieto, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Rey Suerte are all 6-2 or taller and athletic enough to match up against international guards so that's not as big a concern as you might think.
But it all comes down to having our two young bigs and they are missing in action.
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