I don’t know what to think of this.
I am talking about the Gilas Pilipinas versus South Sudan match.
When the lead was cut down to four, I was ecstatic.
When the lead was back to eight, I got worried.
Then it dropped to five again.
But then it ballooned to eleven.
And then, I was disheartened.
You see, the team played us to believe that they were going to win it. Like most Gilas Pilipinas wins, they might struggle in the first half but they always charge in the third quarter. When I saw Dwight Ramos destroying the otherwise insurmountable lead, it gave me hope.
But then, they lost.
Moreover, it felt as if they gave up with five minutes left in the game.
There was one dead ball situation in the middle of the fourth quarter where you can see Chot Reyes shaking his head in the peripheral as the camera focused on the Gilas Pilipinas players.
Carlik Jones said it best during the post-game interview. He said that even though the South Sudan contingent inside the Araneta Coliseum is a small one, the team could hear their support. This FIBA World Cup is more important to the South Sudanese because of their current situation. The country is in dire straits at the moment and there is a chance that they are going to return to the country facing the aftereffects of their recent civil war. While some of these players are going to leave the country so they can continue their NBA journey, others might seek refuge elsewhere for the sake of their families.
Meanwhile, Jordan Clarkson finds it weird how Filipinos everywhere are trolling Chot Reyes.
But then again, maybe Clarkson is just that clueless.
You can see the dejected faces of the players once the lead went from four to 18 in a span of minutes. I have been pissed at Dwight Ramos’ gameplay but this time, he brought his best game. When he was dribbling the seconds from the shot clock, I actually thought it was okay. The same can be said for AJ Edu, Rhenz Abando, Kiefer Ravena, and Kai Sotto.
Even Clarkson was somewhat tolerable when Gilas had its run.
With that said, when his default version comes knocking, all our worst fears are happening.
I have been watching the PBA Moto Club YouTube page for some time now and Rico Maierhofer and Willie Miller have been adamant on how JC is messing up their team dynamics.
Clarkson is basically unleashing his inner Kobe Bryant when all we want is to have a Scottie Pippen, a Penny Hardaway, a Grant Hill, and even an Austin Reaves. Even in the current version of the PBA, players aren’t used to an isolation import. The imports we have right now may average 20 points or more but they also need to have at least ten rebounds per game. Moreover, the super scorers are basically gone after a few games especially if they can’t make their teammates look good. Justin Brownlee is a classic example of a super scorer with a 20-and-10 stat line that brings chemistry to his Ginebra squad. JB also gets more than 20 games per conference in all of six seasons. The only reason Brownlee just had 17 games in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup is because he’s a mid-conference replacement. Derrick “Flight” Brown, Kenny Redfield, John Best, and Lamont Strothers are classic examples aside from Bobby Parks and Norman Black of super scorers with lengthy conference stints. Meanwhile, Sean Chambers alongside Allen Durham, Rosell Ellis, and Shawn Daniels are examples of imports that would sacrifice their numbers so they can bring the team together. This is why we can regard Brownlee in the same light as Parks, Black, Chambers, and even Billy Ray Bates.
In the PBA, NBA imports don’t necessarily translate to championships. Some of these players come to the league and expect to score 40 points or more. Recently, Nick Young showed up for The Strong Group and he was a shell of his former self. Meanwhile, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played for TNT and outlasted Brownlee to win the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup. Basically, some players come in overqualified while others come in expecting the ovation Stephon Marbury and Dwight Howard got.
Chot Reyes needs to retire from Gilas Pilipinas coaching to save the emotional stability he has left. Being a divisive character, he needs to resign as head coach especially when the Filipinos are showing the world their hatred for him. If a coach can’t fuel his team to victory, then he needs to at least unite the nation.
And while the nation is uniting because of him, the nation is uniting because of the negative aspect of his coaching.
The FIBA-ending match against China is going to be an important one for us because of all the teams we’ve faced, they are the team we are most familiar with. Yes, they have Kyle Anderson, but we have Jordan Clarkson. With that said, it feels as if Clarkson’s decisions are hurting us. When Ramos and Edu were doing offensive damage, Clarkson tried to involve the rest of the players. However, he was too close to the basket and by making the extra pass, it resulted in disrupted plays and turnovers. When the lead ballooned, the rest of the five watched Clarkson play iso ball.
This is now the difference between Blatche and Clarkson. As mentioned, the plays of Clarkson resemble that of Blatche in 2014. Clarkson, being a combo guard, can dribble the ball better than Blatche’s dream of becoming a shooting guard. However, when Blatche plays on top of the key, he draws his defender to him. This is why Reyes couldn’t use Blatche and June Mar Fajardo at the same time back then – since the opposing center would just choose JMF instead of going to Blatche.
When we chose Clarkson over Brownlee, we had this idea that we were going to simply showcase our players to the best of the world. In some ways, we are giving the world a possible NBA prospect. AJ Edu has been logging heavy minutes and doing his best to contain the best big men in our group. Meanwhile, Kai Sotto’s minutes are sporadic, and this may be a sign that we shouldn’t be looking at him in terms of NBA potential.
With that said, Clarkson’s gameplay is also exposing his flaws. His overreliance on his skills is a concern. Clarkson will return to Utah possibly returning to his sixth-man role without the slew of defenses thrown at him. This could be a welcome relief but I doubt if he’ll unleash his inner Kobe there. Also, with the Asian Games roughly three weeks away, this event will determine who amongst JC and JB is the better fit for Gilas.
China is also going to host the Asian Games. Especially in our current political situation wherein China is making bases out of the islands in contention, beating China on our home turf is a must.
Judging by our recent games, I doubt if the fans are good with our chances. China just defeated Angola. Because of our losing margin, we are not going to finish in 32nd place.
But we need to win against China for the sake of the hometown crowd.