Uichico working on ‘maximizing strengths’ as Gilas struggles without big man

Gilas Cadets in a huddle during their tune up against Ateneo on Tuesday. Photo by Mark Giongco

Gilas cadets’ lack of big men and preparation showed in their first tuneup game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Tuesday.

The Philippine team is building up for the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and so far, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“We lack big men. It’s hard to play without a big man, but these are the players that will play in the Southeast Asian Games, so we will just try to maximize our strengths and see how we can make up for our deficiencies,” said Jong Uichico, who will coach the Gilas cadets in the SEA Games after escaping Ateneo, 86-79.

Christian Standhardinger, the Cadets’ lone center, won’t be with the team until he finishes his commitments in the Fiba Asia Cup in Lebanon.

Without the rugged 6-foot-8 Fil-German, the Cadets will have to play with either Troy Rosario, who is a forward, or Raymar Jose at center.

Due to a scheduling conflict with the SEA Games and Fiba Asia Cup, Standhardinger could miss the Cadets’ opening game against one of its toughest challengers in Thailand.

“He’ll join us at a later date so that means we are practicing without him,” Uichico said. “We can’t do anything about it. We just have to work hard. We’re small so we have to box out and rebound. If we’re quicker, we run.”

Former national team coach Tab Baldwin, who calls the shots for the Blue Eagles, pointed out possible concerns for the Cadets heading into the SEA Games including the lack of size upfront and chemistry.

“I think the obvious that jumps out is they don’t have a center. They lack a big man in the middle and we’re (Ateneo) not really the type of team who can exploit that because that’s not our stength either,” said Baldwin, who led the national team to a gold medal in the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.

“They got good guards, they have good leadership, but I think they need more time together. They need time to settle down and become a team.”

Baldwin said Standhardinger addresses the Cadets’ frontline issues but it will depend on how he would fare playing back-to-back tournaments.

“I think he’s (Standhardinger) gonna do double duty so he’s gotta stay healthy. Obviously, playing two tournaments back-to-back isn’t easy either. I don’t know what else they can do, but they really need some help in the middle.”

The Cadets play three more exhibition games against Adamson, Far Eastern University and National U.

The team opens its SEA Games campaign against a tough Thailand side.

Baldwin doesn’t exactly know the kind of competition the Cadets are going to face in Malaysia, but he’s certain that the national team will fight.

“I like these players a lot. I’ve coached a lot of those players. There’s some talented players there, others are very competitive guys. This team is not gonna back down from anybody but I don’t really know what they’re gonna face,” he said.

“Thailand’s gonna be tough, Indonesia”s gonna be tough. Who knows, who else? The zone is changing, the zone is maturing. I know that we would like to send our best players, but we always have to battle the political landscape here, and that’s what Gilas will continue to do. These guys will go in there and will play compete hard.”