Why not Gilas in Governors Cup?

It’s been done before so why not enter Gilas as the 11th team in the PBA Governors Cup? The national team is scrambling for practice time and won’t be complete until the PBA season ends July 15 at the earliest assuming there are players in coach Chot Reyes’ roster battling in the third conference finals. It’s not just practice time that’s critical, it’s also the opportunity to play games, to re-familiarize with each other, to soak in Reyes’ system.

At the moment, Gilas hasn’t even been reassembled for practice. Reyes is planning once-a-week Mondays-only sessions right after the end of the Philippine Cup finals.

A tournament that Gilas will play in is the FIBA-Asia Cup set July 11-18 in China and Gilas may participate with an incomplete lineup, listing only players whose teams will have been eliminated by that time in the Governors Cup. Marcus Douthit is scheduled to return from a US trip soon and if his naturalization papers are approved, Andray Blatche of the Brooklyn Nets will be in town on July 1. For the record, Gilas will be allowed to enlist only one naturalized player for the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Aug. 30-Sept. 14. You can’t put two naturalized players in the roster and play one at a time. You can only put one naturalized player in the lineup. So it will come down to a choice between Douthit and Blatche. That’s assuming Blatche’s naturalization comes through and the other naturalization candidate JaVale McGee isn’t able to play because of a knee injury.

Since 1984, several national squads have played in the PBA as a guest entry. In 1984-85, the Philippine team was known as Northern Consolidated and coached by Ron Jacobs. In 1984, Northern took third and fourth in two All-Filipino conferences. In 1985, Northern was third in the open conference and won the reinforced tournament via a 4-0 sweep of Manila Beer. The experience brought Northern to the FIBA-Asia throne late that same year. Other national teams got the green light to participate in the PBA up to 2002.

There is a sense of urgency for Gilas to compete in the Governors Cup. If that happens, Reyes will get a lot more training time for the national team. But it will mean the release of Gilas players from their mother clubs before the start of the third conference. In the Governors Cup format, each team is allowed to recruit an import with a height limit of 6-5. If Gilas plays, the limit won’t be relevant because of the presence of either Douthit or Blatche. So it may make sense to go with an unlimited ceiling.

Reyes has yet to submit a list of players for a 24-man lineup to the PBA Board of Governors and commissioner Chito Salud. He has been given blanket authority to choose any player from any team in the league. If Gilas plays in the third conference, it will mean the temporary release of players by their mother teams to the pool. Talk ‘N’ Text will be severely depleted as Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo and Larry Fonacier are shoo-ins for Reyes’ lineup. Barangay Ginebra will also be handicapped as L. A. Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar are with Gilas. Ginebra may even lose Greg Slaughter to the pool.

Obviously, PBA teams will be sacrificing a lot if Gilas plays in the third conference but it will be for the country. Allowing each team to recruit an import of unlimited height should even up things somewhat. Free agents waiting in the wings to showcase their skills will be given the opportunity to fill in the vacuum left by the Gilas players. Additionally, Gilas’ participation is a way to promote the country’s crusade in the FIBA World Cup.

The PBA has already bent over backwards in advancing the end of the season by a month. It would’ve ended Aug. 13 if not for the adjustment. Can you imagine leaving Gilas with only 17 days to prepare for the country’s return to the global stage after 36 years? But there is a way for the PBA to help the Gilas cause even further without compromising the national team’s training period or the league’s calendar. Let Gilas play bearing games in the third conference.

Reyes is aiming for at least 15 games to hone Gilas for Spain. Competing in the PBA will be a major factor to achieve his target. Reyes will be able to manage the Gilas players’ minutes during the conference and get them more prepared for the tune-up games in Spain and Antibes. It’s a better option than the players soaking in major minutes for their mother clubs in the third conference and reporting to the Gilas camp possibly burned out.

Bringing in Gilas to play in the Governors Cup will also be a test for the PBA’s expansion program. How the league will tweak its schedule for 11 teams should be an interesting experience. Surely, the fans will enjoy the competition particularly as Gilas is right now the hottest thing in Philippine basketball. It’ll be a win-win-win situation for the PBA, Gilas and the fans.