By REYNALD MAGALLON
A European team having to deal with size problems against Gilas Pilipinas was such a rarity in the yesteryears but more so in the distant past where the paint was only patrolled by a couple of 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-7 centers on a good day.
But not during the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Latvia, and will certainly not in the years to come for Gilas.
If there’s one thing, that Gilas head coach Tim Cone can take away and rave about the Nationals’ failed bid for the Paris Games in the OQT, it was how the team proven that they have enough size to challenge the best of the world
“The size of the Philippine team gave us problems, how many times have we heard that in these generations? We were too big for them,” said Cone recalling the comments of Latvia head coach Luca Banchi about how Gilas outplayed his team in the interior behind the towering presence of Kai Sotto and June Mar Fajardo.
“Kai was phenomenal in that game, on both sides of the floor. June Mar was just overwhelming for them in terms of size and being able to get his spot,” Cone said of his tall frontline which held its own against the versatile bigs of Latvia in the shocking 89-80 win over the world No. 6 team.
While Cone took note of the impressive performances of Justin Brownlee and Dwight Ramos particularly on the offensive end, the multi-titled coach said it was really the frontline that made the difference for the team
“By and large, it was really our size, the play of June Mar and Kai that was the difference. Of course, Justin and Dwight with the motor but without Kai and June Mar there, it didn’t really matter how well Justin played,” said Cone.
“It was the presence of the two big guys that made the difference,” he added.
Having seen how Fajardo and Sotto adjusted to playing with each other, Gilas was barely scratching the surface of its potential, especially with 6-foot-11 center/forward AJ Edu yet to play for the National.
And Cone, naturally, is raring for the day the three play together under his watch to come.
“I can’t help but imagine that AJ Edu has been there and what a difference that he would make in terms of keeping our big men fresh and giving them a different look,” said Cone.
“He’s another type of big man in terms of what he can do. And that’s the same with Kai and June Mar, they are very different; those two are not made in the same mold.”
“June Mar is a terrific inside presence, can get his position, tremendous rebounder while Kai switches at different positions,” he added.
