Chot lines up Fil-Ams for Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas national basketball coach Chot Reyes left for the US the other night to check out Fil-Am players whom he might enlist to see action at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sept. 19-Oct. 4, 2014. Reyes is also engaging coach Vance Walberg in a private one-on-one session on the dribble-drive offense in Fresno, California today.

“We’re not sure about the availability of PBA players for the Asian Games so we’re looking to build up our cadet squad with Fil-Am reinforcements,” said Reyes. “Since the Asian Games is not a FIBA-sanctioned tournament like the FIBA Asia Cup or the FIBA Asia Championships, the rule of showing a Philippine passport before turning 16 won’t apply. All it takes to be eligible is to show a Philippine passport.”

Reyes said at the moment, he’s looking to recruit college stars Garvo Lanete, Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena, Nico Salva, Kevin Alas, Ronald Pascual and R. R. Garcia for the cadet team. Fil-Am Matt Ganuelas, who’ll make his debut with NLex in the PBA D-League next month, is a shoo-in for the Gilas roster. Ganuelas’ brother Brandon, a 6-7 forward soon to graduate from high school, is another prospect.

“The UAAP and NCAA will still be playing games at the time as the Asian Games,” said Reyes. “And the PBA will just be starting its season so I don’t think the pros can be released. The best thing to do is to gather the best collegiate players and reinforce the pool with three or four Fil-Ams.”

Among the Fil-Ams whom Reyes is out to scout are 6-4 Stephen Holt of St. Mary’s College, 6-4 Jordan Clarkson of the University of Missouri-Columbia, 6-4 Jace Tavita and 6-8 Christian Stanhardinger of the University of Hawaii, 6-9 Isaac Holstein of West Virginia State and 6-7 Moala Tautuaa of Chadron State.

Tautuaa, 23, averaged 14 points for Chadron State this past season and the 240-pound forward is headed to play as an Asean import with Kuala Lumpur under coach Ariel Vanguardia in the ABL. Holt, 20, averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 28 games, including 27 starts, with St. Mary’s last campaign. Stanhardinger, 23, played two years at Nebraska before moving to Hawaii but there may be a problem with his FIBA status because he suited up for Germany in the under-18 European Championships. Stanhardinger’s mother Elizabeth is a Filipina. He was born in Munich. At the under-18 European Championships, Stanhardinger scored 16 points against Israel and 15 against Russia.

Reyes said Jared Dillinger referred him to Tavita and Stanhardinger because their Hawaii coach was also his varsity coach. Two of Hawaii’s assistant coaches are Scott Fisher who once played as a naturalized citizen for Australia and Brandyn Akana who conducted clinics here for Nike some years back.

Reyes said the highlight of his one-week US trip is meeting Walberg. The private session was arranged by Ron Jacobs’ best friend Paul Howard, a former Arizona State coach living in Los Angeles, through Gilas assistant coach Joseph Uichico.

Walberg, 56, was formerly head coach at Pepperdine University and is now an assistant at the University of Massachussetts. In 2003-06, he coached Fresno City College to a 133-11 record, including a 34-0 mark one season, employing his patented dribble-drive motion offense also known as the Memphis Attack. Walberg was scheduled to conduct a clinic for coaches in Fresno yesterday and will meet Reyes today. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has reportedly conferred with Walberg on the dribble-drive offense, too. It is rumored that Walberg may be on the way to Denver for a session with Nuggets coach George Karl.

Reyes said he will show Walberg videos of the Gilas games against Iran and Qatar from the recent FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo. “I’m hoping to get his inputs on how we can improve, particularly in the games where we struggled,” he said. “The dribble-drive system is something we can apply because it presumes quickness which we have. But it also means we must have good shooters to receive the kick-out pass.”