Gilas Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao said he has about five or six players assured of slots for the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers based on what he saw in the three tune-up matches against Jordan and Lebanon.
Guiao, obviously, didn’t reveal the names when asked after Friday’s 74-68 loss to Lebanon but the likes of Christian Standhardinger, Marcio Lassiter and Japeth Aguilar are among the players observers see as likely shoo-ins.
Standhardinger, one of the team’s naturalized players, provided two standout performances in Gilas’ heated two-game series against Jordan, Lassiter has been knocking down his outside shots while Aguilar has been steady on both ends during the exhibition series.
“There are five or six guys who are shoo-ins,” Guiao said after the Lebanon match held at Upsilon Chi Center inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman.
“Half of the team will be assessed and evaluated by myself and the coaching staff,” added Guiao.
Gilas will conclude its exhibition series tonight against Lebanon when they return at the familiar confines of the Meralco gym where the team holds its practices.
Guiao got a bit of a lesser headache forming his squad with Ian Sangalang already out of the pool after dealing with a hard-fought semis affair in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals.
Sangalang and Magnolia are the midst of preparing for their Finals duel with the Alaska Aces which starts Dec. 5.
“He probably knows that the urgency of his services is not that needed so maybe he chose to just recover and rest himself and we don’t take that against him,” said Guiao.
June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter are also favorites to make the 12-man roster for the home matches against Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 and Iran on Dec. 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena, with Poy Erram and Beau Belga also competing for spots at the frontline.
Guiao will also deal with a bevy of guards on the pool, namely Jayson Castro, LA Tenorio, Scottie Thompson, Pringle, Paul Lee and Alex Cabagnot.
“Rotaing 14 players in a 40-minute game is difficult, to be fair with them. Wala ka namang pwedeng bangkuin sa mga ito e so you’re forced to rotate them in quick rotations and see what they can do, see what combinations will be good for us,” Guiao said.
“And it’s gonna be the basis not only for myself but the rest of the coaching staff to make the hard decision on who’s going to be in the final 12.” (Jonas Terrado)
