Gilas vs Iran: The Lineup

We finally know who the final 12 Gilas players will be for the Iran game. While the lineup features a good combination of size, speed, and shooting, you get the feeling that it still isn't the best lineup we could feature.

Some notable absentees are the Gilas players who have been meted out suspensions by FIBA, including Matthew Wright and Japeth Aguilar, both of whom are with the team in Iran.

Given all these, here are the three things to watch out for in the Gilas Vs Iran game:

Thing # 1 The New Blood
Scottie Thompson, Ian Sangalang, and Alex Cabagnot are making their Gilas debuts in the Iran game with a hell of a lot of expectations.

Alex Cabagnot had long been one of the premier guards in the PBA and had always been mentioned as a potential Gilas player. For some odd reason (cough, cough, politics), he never made it to any of the earlier Gilas teams, so this is a long overdue call up.

Ian Sangalang is a weird case, because Gilas has been trying to get him on the team for the last three years and Sangalang has never shown any interest in doing so. The myriad of injuries that always seemed to pop up whenever Gilas called was just too...fortuitous (cough, cough, politics).

Scottie Thompson earned this call up with his MVP-worthy performance in the last PBA conference. He had always been the more exciting prospect, compared to Baser Amer and Kevin Alas but given that he played for Baranggay Ginebra (cough, cough, politics) and the other two played for MVP-owned teams, he was never as viable an option.



Thing #2 The Balik-Gilas
Raymond Almazan was a key cog in last year's Gilas teams and then, for some odd reason, he just stopped attending practices. I think the coaching change may be a factor in his renewed dedication to Gilas duty. Almazan is an active, mobile big man whose lack of an inside touch limits his contributions to dunks and easy lay ups. Still, he can make up for it in rebounding and as a change-of-pace interior defender.

Asi Taulava is a big body who will never back down or be bullied in the paint. His value rises tremendously when we need to face teams with bruising big men (like Iran's Haddadi) but not so much against teams with stretch 4's mascarading as centers.

It has been a looooong, loooong while since Marcio Lassiter last donned the Gilas shirt. Arguably the most successful member of the original Gilas team, Marcio may be the best ever wing to suit up for Gilas. Hardcore defense, outside threat, inside scorer...there is literally nothing Super Marcio can't do and it's dang good to see him back in a Gilas uniform.

Thing #3 In Stan vs Stan, Stan wins.
Christian Standhardinger got the nod to be our naturalized player the moment it became evident that Greg Slaughter could not suit up for the Iran game. His size, willingness to bang down low, and rebounding prowess will be sorely needed against the likes of Hamed Haddadi and Oshin Sahakian.

Pringle, in all likelihood, will get a chance to strut his wares against Qatar, a team which relied heavily on naturalized player Trey Johnson in past competitions.

FEARLESS FORECAST: I'm as hardcore a Gilas fan as you can get but I'm pragmatic as well. I have Iran winning this one 78-70, with Gilas hanging on until the very last quarter.