Cagers work on chemistry for Kuala Lumpur Games – Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - Coach Jong Uichico, whos calling the shots for the Philippine mens basketball team at the SEA Games, yesterday said chemistry is crucial in whipping the squad into championship form but while he hesitated to guarantee a gold medal under a new tournament format, an air of confidence was evident in assessing Gilas chances.

Weve been playing nine or 10 players in our tune-ups with UAAP teams, said Uichico, filling in for head coach Chot Reyes. Weve won all the tune-ups against FEU, Ateneo, Adamson and NU. The games with Ateneo and Adamson were close and it was tight with NU at the start. Chemistrys important. Christian (Standhardinger) and Carl (Bryan Cruz) will miss our first game against Thailand but they should be ready for our next game against Myanmar. Its not my call to guarantee a medal but I can assure everyone that well be very competitive and well do our best to bring back the gold.

Uichico said hell try to replace Cruz with Mac Belo but only if the SEA Games organizers allow it. Standhardinger and Cruz are still with Reyes and the Gilas team playing at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

The nine teams participating in mens basketball are split into two groups. The Philippines is in one bracket with host Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar while the other set is made up of Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam. After a single round of elims in each group, the top two advance to the knockout semis with the winners slugging it out for the gold medal and the losers, for the bronze. There will be no quarterfinals. The Philippines plays Thailand on Sunday, Myanmar on Tuesday and Malaysia on Wednesday.

Host Malaysia enjoys a one-day break before engaging the Philippines which in contrast, will play Myanmar the day before. The semis are scheduled next Friday with the final and the bronze medal game on Aug. 26. In 19 stagings of mens basketball at the SEA Games since 1977, the Philippines has won 17 gold medals. The only other country to hit paydirt is Malaysia, winner in 1979 and 1989. Basketball was not in the SEA Games calendar in 2005 and 2009.

Reyes will bring Standhardinger and Cruz to Malaysia. Uichicos chief assistant in the SEA Games is Jimmy Alapag who was recently named head coach of Alab Pilipinas in the coming ABL season. Uichico said Alapag is full-time with Gilas until after the SEA Games.

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A key adjustment that Uichico will make is moving Troy Rosario to the middle. Troy will play center, he said. Kobe (Paras) will play the four position. I realize hes explosive in the open court and the opportunities to run might not be there for Kobe because playing four, hell be crashing the defensive boards. But its a matter of timing. When Christian comes in, well probably still stick with Kobe at four. Hes finding his niche with the team. Baser (Amer) will be our primary point guard. Well play him with Kiefer (Ravena) at two but well also play Kiefer at one like Mike (Tolomia) and Almond (Vosotros).

Uichico said while the Philippines dominated the last SEABA Cup, the opposition will be different in the SEA Games. Thailand, for instance, will be reinforced by 6-5 Thai-American Tyler Lamb who played as an Asian import with the ABL champion Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions last season.

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Cagers work on chemistry for Kuala Lumpur Games - Philippine Star