INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - With the controversial Mark Barroca and Japeth Aguilar in tow, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team leaves for Singapore with Serbian coach Rajko Toroman hoping to whip the two embattled amateur stars back in shape and get their focus again on the game.

?We have a lot of problems now,? said Toroman on the eve of the team?s departure yesterday to fulfill an exhibition schedule against club team Singapore Slingers tomorrow.

?Japeth needs to solve his situation with Burger King and Mark is coming from a very sensitive situation from FEU. He?s not ready to play.?

Allegations of Barroca?s involvement in game-fixing due to a recent dip in his performance led to his ouster from the Far Eastern Tamaraws last Saturday.

Aguilar, meanwhile, faces possible sanctions from the Philippine Basketball Association after refusing to sign up with Burger King, the team that selected him No. 1 overall in the pro league?s rookie draft.

?The most important thing is to return him (Barroca) in a normal way of practicing and for him not to think about what happened in FEU,? said Toroman. ?He needs time to recover from everything. I said to him now you have to practice very hard. You have to prove yourself and be dedicated to the national team.?

Aguilar, who has yet to sign any contract, said his camp has started negotiations with Smart Gilas.

?Japeth still needs some time to make adjustments,? said Toroman.

Unlike his predecessors, Toroman is more concerned about the chemistry of the players than the team?s need for size.

?It?s a team game,? said Toroman. ?So it?s really not a matter of size but the composition of your team.?

Coaches of previous national teams rued the lack of size and height of the Filipinos for their miserable showing in the 2007 and 2009 Fiba-Asia Championships.

With 6-foot-11 American CJ Giles as a naturalized player, Toroman said the Gilas frontline would be complete when the 6-7 Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Ateneo joins the team along with 6-9 Junmar Fajardo from Cebu.

Along with 6-11 Greg Slaughter, 6-7 Aldrech Ramos and 6-7 Jason Ballesteros, Toroman said Smart Gilas will have enough talents to man the paint in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

?We should compete as a team. Travel, eat and do everything in a Spartan-like atmosphere together,? said Toroman.

Toroman is inclined to replicate the training program of Iran, which he steered to the 2007 Fiba-Asia Championship crown and a breakthrough stint in the Olympics in Beijing last year.

?In the beginning, it will be painful,? said Toroman. ?The team will lose several (international) games. But in the end, the result will speak for itself,? he added.