Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
TAIPEI—With the enemy’s roster littered with pesky guards, Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes has decided to include Jio Jalalon as his third point guard in the Filipinos’ Fiba World Qualifying match with Chinese Taipei Friday night here.
Able to defend as hard as anyone in the region, Jalalon won the spot over Baser Amer and joins Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo in the Philippine Team backcourt that definitely doesn’t lack the firepower.
Amer loomed to be a logical choice for the spot, playing incredibly well for Meralco in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. But it seems that Jalalon is a much better defender, something which Reyes will need for the 7 p.m. game against the Taiwanese at Taipei Heping gym.
Carl Bryan Cruz and Cadet Troy Rike were the other cuts as Reyes finalized his 12-man lineup before practicing for the last time on Thursday night at Jheng Jhong sports facility.
“We’ve always had a pesky point guard who could put pressure and be a pesky defender,” Reyes told TV5. “And that’s the role of Jio Jalalon. That’s why we’ve kept those three point guards in the Final 12, and that leaves Baser (Amer) out of the equation.”
Cruz, also a hard-nosed defender, lost out a slot to Allein Maliksi, the former Santo Tomas ace who can light it up from afar.
“We needed an extra zone-buster, that’s why we chose Allein,” Reyes explained as the Filipinos try to sustain a five-year winning run against the Taiwanese and stay firmly in second place in Group B behind Australia.
Andray Blatche will again play a key role for the Filipinos, who labored under a bum start last November before hacking out a 90-83 victory in the second window held at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Quincy Davis III will again be the force in the middle for the Taiwanese, whom he gave a handsome early lead seven months ago by shooting 12 points in the opening period only to lose steam when it mattered. The 6-foot-10 center finished with 20 points.
Gilas will have another game after this one, happening on Monday at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, where they clash with world power Australia. He can change his roster for that game as allowed by the rules.
Tickets for the game have been sold out days before, with a big number of overseas Filipino workers failing to secure tickets with the home crowd gobbling up most of it to assure full support for the Taiwanese.
June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Gabe Norwood, Troy Rosario, RR Pogoy, Calvin Abueva and Matthew Wright round out Reyes’ team for the Taiwanese.