MANILA, 26 April — After playing his cards close to his chest, Jong Uichico finally laid them all down on the table.
So here they are — the best players the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) could offer who will make up the Philippine national team to the Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, later in the year.
As expected, the four-time PBA champion coach went for the conventional as he chose the 15 players culled from the country’s premier league to pursue the Philippines’ ambition of bringing the Asian basketball gold back to this basketball-crazy nation where the sport is considered a national passion, if not a virtual religion.
Choosing from a talent-rich pool of 27 aspirants, Uichico plucked out eight Fil-foreign players and seven home-grown talents in a team that had a little of everything — and had very few surprise choices in it.
One thing for sure, they are the best players currently pounding the PBA hardcourts. To be precise, four veterans of the Centennial Team that won the bronze in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games are beefing up the Fil-foreigners in the lineup that was submitted by Uichico to the PBA Commissioner’s office.
Leading the list are Andy Seigle, Dennis Espino, Olsen Racela and Kenneth Duremdes, all members of the Centennial Team. Also named to the magic 15 were Chris Jackson, Asi Taulava, Jeffrey Cariaso, Rudy Hatfield, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Eric Menk, Mick Pennisi, Boyet Fernandez and Noy Castillo.
The 15 players will form the Selecta team that will take part in the Commissioner’s Cup. All 15 will go to Pusan, but once there, three will be relegated as practice players.
The final 12-man lineup for the national team will be picked from the list before the quadrennial games starts on Sept. 28-Oct. 14.
“This is the best team that can give the Philippines the best shot to win the Asian Games gold,” Uichico said after announcing the long-anticipated roster.
This marks the fourth time since the open basketball was introduced in 1990 that the PBA will be sending a selection to the Asian Games. The immediate goal is to improve on a bronze medal finish in 1998. But the biggest task is to reclaim the throne.
Still, the multi-titled Uichico, who took over the coaching job after American Ron Jacobs suffered a stroke last year, remains non-committal on the chances of his wards, but he vowed they will go out fighting.
“I’m not promising that this team will win the gold medal. But I can guarantee everybody that these players will go out fighting up to the last second no matter what,” said Uichico who will be seeking to end four decades of title drought for the Philippines in the games.
Uichico described his team as relatively small but thought “this can match up with any team in the Asiad and can be the team that can give the country the best shot possible at winning the Asiad gold medal.”
He armed himself with a list of 15 gallant names who have stuck it out despite all the hardships in one of the most tedious try-out processes in their one common goal, that is to wear the Philippine tri-colors in Pusan. And as expected, the squad had a big Fil-foreign flavor with Taulava, Menk, Pennisi, Hatfield, Jackson, Castillo and the Seigle brothers in it.
So Uichico combined height and quickness.
He said the team will use its quickness against tall squads from China and Lebanon. The many-time national player said he decided to go for a balanced line-up that will have the best chance of beating the opposition.
He picked just five legitimate big men in Taulava, Menk, Ildefonso, Espino and Andy Seigle and blended it with perimeter gunners like Duremdes, Castillo and Hontiveros.
“If we go big, it’s useless against the Chinese because they are more mobile. We’ll still be mismatched. It will also be a disadvantage against small and quick teams like Korea,” he pointed out. “Our strength, I believe, is our quickness. If you will notice, the list is made up of eight small ones and seven big ones. The small ones are dominant. The idea is how to best match up with the opposition. So our best shot is to form a balanced team that is neither small nor big but has a lot of offensive threats. That’s why we opted to go small.”
Uichico sent an official copy of the list to Commissioner Jun Bernardino, who, in turn, revealed the 15-man roster in a meeting with the league’s team managers.
The squad will see action in the Commissioner’s Cup, unfolding on June 16, for its final tune-up before the Asiad. Conspicuously missing in the list are 1994 and 1998 campaigners Marlou Aquino and Johnny Abarrientos and Davonn Harp.
Abarrientos, who has long been a national team standout in his amateur and professional career, and the Fil-Am Harp told Uichico not to include them on the list before it was made public.
Abarrientos backed out because of health reasons. He has long been bothered by knee and ankle injuries in the Governor’s Cup. Harp, one of the most consistent candidates for the national team, cited personal reasons.
Uichico said Harp would have been a practical shoo-in had he not opted to back out at the last minute. The national mentor did not go to the specifics about Harp’s backing out.
“Davonn wrote me a letter explaining why he was backing out. I am not at liberty to reveal why he decided to withdraw,” he said.
Harp is currently facing a legal war with a female radio reporter trainee who is crying sexual harrasment.
“We were saddened by their withdrawals because we knew both players would be a big help to the country. But it was their decision and we respect it,” said Uichico. “I spoke to Johnny before making a decision on the 15 and he asked to be excused. He wasn’t sure he’ll be a hundred percent in the next few months, while Davonn told me he was surrendering his slot to other deserving candidates for personal reasons.”
But as expected, controversy also marked Uichico’s announcement after the inclusion of Castillo in the national team.
Uichico readily defended his bold decision, saying the 6-foot-2 Castillo, a streak-shooter, could ably fill his need for a point guard who could easily make the switch to off-guard.
“I believe we need him so I made a decision, whether popular or not,” he said, adding Castillo was his “personal choice.”
Uichico said he was willing to bite the bullet in picking Castillo, the streak-shooting guard who was not able to join the tryout because he had surgery in the US.
“I said before that my decision could be popular or unpopular when it comes to Noy. I really believe that he can be of great help to the country’s quest to win the gold medal so the coaching staff decided to give him a shot at the national team,” he explained.
Outside shooting is vital in playing against the zone and Castillo isn’t only a deadly perimeter rifleman but also a versatile backcourt operator who can play both guard spots.
Indeed, Castillo’s inclusion came as a surprise since he did not see action at all for Hapee-RP after having surgery on his toe and a prolonged rehabilitation in the US.
On the national players’ performance in the Samsung Governor’s Cup, Uichico said he was not able to accomplish all his objectives because of a cocktail of injuries that hampered both Selecta and Hapee.
He noted, though, there were goals that were accomplished.
Uichico said he found out which players could work together in combinations, which players had the heart to fight through pain and hardship, which players fit the roles in the gameplan for Pusan, and which players are willing to sacrifice personal ambitions for the good of the team.
“There were players I chose because of their attitude-they played hurt, never missed a practice,” he explained. “Those are the guys you can rely on. You know they’ll give 100 percent every game.”
One of those whom Uichico believes the team could bank on heavily is Castillo. For his part, Castillo said he is not letting himself get affected by reports his inclusion to the pool is being questioned by several sectors.
The Purefoods gunner minced no words about how he felt about the golden opportunity to don the national jersey.
“Truly, I’m thrilled. I have always wanted this opportunity. Actually, even four years ago, I was hoping to get a chance to represent the country,” Castillo said. “I’ve heard a lot about that stuff and I’ve read some of them. But I really do not have any control over it so, you know, I just let it Uichico sent an official copy of the list to Commissioner Jun Bernardino, who, in turn, revealed the 15-man roster in a meeting with the league’s team managers.
Only four players in the roster had previous Asiad experience in Duremdes, Racela, Andy Seigle and Espino.
Duremdes is going to a third Asiad after the Hiroshima and the Bangkok games.
Interestingly, too, the choices also gave Cariaso the chance to make his first Asiad. The Coca-Cola guard was the final cut in each of the last two national teams formed by the pro league.
The team steps up its Asian Games buildup as it finally sees action as one team in the Commissioner’s Cup. It has already resumed preparations at the Moro Lorenzo training facility in Ateneo.
Those left out will be allowed to rejoin their mother teams in the Governor’s Cup except Marlou Aquino, Harp, Ali Peek, Don Camaso and Poch Juinio who were part of the original list drafted by Jacobs.
In a deal forged among the league members, players named to the original pool of 17 before Uichico took over from Jacobs will be allowed to return to their mother teams only in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The rest — FedEx’s Ren-Ren Ritualo, Coke’s Abarrientos and Rafi Reavis and Talk ‘N Text’s Patrick Fran — can already see action with their respective squads in the Governor’s Cup quarterfinals.
The other three are Chris Calaguio of Shell, EJ Feihl of Ginebra and Jimmy Alapag, a Fil-Am who is not playing with any team. The Turbo Chargers and Kings failed to make it to the Governor’s Cup quarterfinals.
All in all, San Miguel Beer, Uichico’s mother team, predictably had the biggest contribution to the team with four, followed by its sister teams Purefoods (with three) and Coca-cola (two). Alaska, Sta. Lucia, Red Bull, Ginebra, Shell and Talk ‘N Text have a player each in the team. FedEx is the only PBA ballclub not represented.
Actually, Uichico announced the cut after his two teams that played in the Governor’s Cup had finished their elimination round assignments with both Selecta and Hapee bombing out of the tournament.
Uichico had found himself in dilemma before coming up with the list: that was on whether he should form a big team or opt for a quick one.
Meaning, a team that could either be big or quick, if not quicker, that can match up well against the Asiad favorites, most notably perennial champion China and traditional contenders South Korea, as well as emerging power Lebanon.
Uichico has had 27 of the finest players in the land in his pool, working with them twice a day since the new year in order to come up with the best possible lineup for the games. This had been nagging at him, making it doubly hard for him and his staff to come up with final 15-man list.
“We have to do a very delicate balancing in the selection because it’s not only China and Korea we’re facing in the Asiad,” said Uichico. “If we name a big team, we could be left behind in the transition plays. And if we name a smaller team, we could be overpowered.”
After consultations with his staff, Uichico made up his mind — finally. One by one, Uichico informed the players of their fate through the phone. Uichico said Aquino was the only player he missed talking to because he didn’t have his contact numbers.
He admitted that it wasn’t easy for the coaching staff to come up with the selection. He took into consideration the scouting reports from assistants Allan Caidic, Eric Altamirano and Binky Favis on the Japanese and Korean teams and what was viewed from tapes of China, Lebanon, and other contenders in action before choosing the final cast.
“We’ve got pretty good size even if we’re not so big,” said Uichico. “We’ve got more small players than big players. Why do we need so many big guys when we know we’ll never outsize China and some of the other teams?”
Uichico meant he will use quickness, instead of size, to outplay the giants in Busan. Overall, the 15-man roster averages 6-3 with Andy Seigle, Pennisi and Taulava the tallest at 6-9.
Next in the ladder are Menk, Espino, Danny Seigle and Ildefonso at 6-6. Jackson is 6-4 while Hatfield and Duremdes are both 6-3. Cariaso and Hontiveros are listed at 6-2. Castillo is six-foot flat. The shortest players are Fernandez, 5-8, and Racela, 5-10.
