Nakaka-SINAG!

It’s probably the biggest gold medal of the Philippine delegation if we are to judge which sport everyone was really watching out for. It will be the saving grace to an otherwise ill-fated campaign that was ruined by in-fighting amongst the NSA officials. Not to mention, this will ease the pain on the ugly blow dealt to our rising football program, having won only once in all its matches. But anyway, why don’t we look at our current mainstays and ponder or analyze what is it we foresee.

Sinag blinded its opposition with the brightest college stars in the country. 18 to 20-something kids kicking the crap out of 27 to 30-something grown men. The youngest of the crew was perhaps Kiefer Ravena who, together with Bobby Ray Parks, is being hailed as the future of Philippine basketball. And he might’ve justified it with the recent stint in the national team. Here was a kid barely into his 18th year on earth schooling magbabakal-, magbubukid­, kargador-like international ball veterans as if they were still in grade school and he in high school. There was Bobby Ray Parks showing off the inherited gene of an amazing American basketball player. No one could keep him out of the paint to outmuscle the wee guards they jokingly tried to cover him with.

But who will be our pillar? We don’t have Haddadis, Yis or Seung Jins. Well, what do those guys have in common? Yes, height. All of the basketball powers in Asia have guys manning the paint who are at least 7-feet tall. And they do not just have the height, they’ve got the necessary skills. All three were, and in Yi’s and Haddadi’s case, they are still NBA veterans. So who do we have to match up with those monsters? Oh, we have our own monsters right in our backyard. First and foremost, we have Greg Slaughter. He’s a legit 7-foot center who has shown we can rely on him. Yes, he may still be in the development stage, but you can’t teach height. The problem is finding a suitable sub and running mate to our Slaughterhouse, not to mention his demeanor. While he can, from time-to-time, make everyone manning the paint cry, he’s far from being a full-fledged firebreather. I’d like to see him be like Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls and the French national team. Ferocious on defense and unlike Jo, be more unrelenting on offense. If you watched the games, you’d go laugh your head off at how the opposition cringes when the entry pass to the post is made. For a big man, he ran rings. His weight pretty much had everyone back off.

However, while Big Daddy Dave Marcelo more than held his own, at 6’6” (I’m listing that generously, any San Bedan can freely correct me) he’ll be giving up too much height in international play. Maybe making him slide down to the four spot would solve this. If Charles Barkley, who stood at 6’4” can be a wrecking crew, why can’t Big Daddy D be the same? Make him leaner, make him meaner and we’ve got an enforcer. Personally, since I saw Coach Norman using Jake Pascual at the four spot, why not slide him down to three? He’s agile enough for it defensively, he has the mid-range J when it is needed, but he’ll be crashing the boards and overpowering anyone with his length with impunity. Same goes for Nico Salva, who needs to have that 3-ball in his arsenal just in case. So, who’s gonna be the back up slotman?

The back-up center slot should be given to none other than... Junemar Fajardo. Yes you read that right. The 6’9” monster from Visayas. You may ask who he is, but if you’ve watched the PCCL games last year, you’d know this guy is the real deal. Think again, and sorry for my Bulls bias, Joakim Noah. Well that maybe a stretch comparing a Filipino to an NBA player, so for the “purist’s” sake, think Marc Pingris with offense. The guy has got good body (built like a mountain), probably the most developed back-to-the-basket big man who hasn’t got a drop of Black Magic in him. Is he better than Slaughter? I’ll go out on a limb and say maybe, for the guy was Greg’s chief nemesis when he was playing for the UV Lancers. Imagine a titanic battle between them. Crazy. But anyway, back to Fajardo. One thing why I vouch for the big fella is he has what it takes to be that back up. Or running mate if you want a crazy, pound it in, take-no-prisoners approach (honestly I’d like it). Nimble feet, sweet, soft touch, crazy boardwork, everything you want in a slotman.

Now, if I were more crazy enough, I say, recall Japeth Aguilar back to service, Norman Black knows what he can do, and let him play not the power forward spot, but the small forward spot. Yes, the small forward spot. Why? Japeth has the jumpshot to do it (though it needs more work, which I’m sure coach Norman will be able to address), the quickness, the feet. But ultimately, I’m envisioning him in a monstrous frontline with Greg and Junemar. Not only would Haddadi be neutralized, China would be stumped because they’re not used to seeing us with that much height. Ha Seung Jin, the laggard that he is, will be languishing in ineffectivity. Mind you, Daniel Sandrin wouldn’t even be able to have his back in this one. And those pesky South Korean corner shooters? Imagine Japeth roaminng the perimeter, then a kickout is made, and since he is fast and agile enough, the shooter would see a stampeding 6’9” player out to have his shot. That alone, is why it’s feasible to have Aguilar on the national team.

As for the guards, I wonder who was that small, rocky dude who was running the show unflappably. Wait a minute, why it’s Emman “Pocket Rocket” Monfort. Now, I know many were questioning what the heck he was doing there. Some may say Ateneo bias (Coach Norman having his starting lineup, minus Kirk Long of course, in the team), but thing is, who better to run his offense than his own point guard? But besides that, he was getting rebounds inside the paint. Inside the paint, folks, where he probably gives off a foot and five inches in height amongst the trees. He was making opposing point guards cry with his defense. They tried to post him up, but he was immovable for a little guy. Boy do I wish to see this pride of Iloilo go up against Madi Kamrani and Afagh. And since the three-point line in international play is that of the amateur line (which got moved to the pro line in college ball), that’s pretty much money right there with the three-ball.

Aside from Monfort, and probably the deadlier of the two, is FEU superstar RR Garcia. Watched him destroy Malaysia and Thailand? I did. I was left shaking my head in disbelief with the ruthlessness RR showed. This was THE RR. Not the RR who deferred to Terrence Romeo (amazingly and confusingly). And more surprisingly, RR was quoted, “I learned how to be a role player and what an experience it is.” Guys, here is a role player who’s arguably one of the best guards, if not THE best, in the country right now. Not to mention, Garvo Lanete, the nation’s best shooting guard, also being a role player who needs to hit open three balls, which is pretty much a lay-up. And we’re not yet done, there’s skipper Chris Tiu, the poster child of Norman Black’s system. He’s arguably the best candidate to captain this guys, which also include ultra-athletic Fil-Ams in Chris Ellis and Cliff Hodge. This team is loaded. And it will be crazy loaded if we include the aforementioned guys who were not in the team.

I say, everyone must give this Sinag team some four more years to grow, jell, and be a complete team. By then, with Junemar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, maybe a couple more of recruits like say Norbert Torres, Baser Amer, an improved Kyle Pascual, maybe Arnold Van Opstal, a trimmed down Ryan Buenafe (a slim Buenafe is thrice the monster as that of overwieght Buenafe honestly), the havoc that collection of stars, role players can do, it’s terrifying to behold. I’m not exxagerating. These kids might be way even better than our pros and they’re still in college. We would no longer be needing a naturalized player to be heaped with crazy expectations.