It’s been reported that the Gilas Pilipinas brain trust is keen on tapping more players to join the pool, with the magic number pegged at 24. That means that there are still around eleven slots open. Take note that this does not YET include the two naturalized prospects of the team — Javale McGee of the Denver Nuggets and Andray Blatche of the Brooklyn Nets. We’re still not sure if their respective naturalization processes will finish in time for Gilas to include their names in the final 24-man pool.
As of this writing, the 2014 FIBA World Cup Draw is done, and the Philippines has been grouped along with Senegal, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Greece, and Croatia. That, in my opinion, is the second-toughest group of the lot, and making it into the second round will certainly be the tallest task coach Chot Reyes has ever faced. Needless to say, he’ll need all thew support he can get.
This is the eighth piece in a series of posts detailing the players who can be part of that pool. For each named individual, we will look at the good things he can bring to the pool, his probable role should he get named to the final Gilas lineup, and the possible match-ups he will have at the Asian and world levels.
Today, we’ll talk about someone who was part of Gilas in 2011 as the Filipinos broke into the top four of the FIBA Asia Men’s for the first time since 1987. He was the usual starter at the SG spot, often guarding the opposing team’s best wingman. He was also one of the team’s designated snipers and slashers. He is Marcio Lassiter.
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| Should Marcio Lassiter return to national duty? (image by Pranz Kaeno Billones/Sports 5) |
What he brings to the table:
Lutz offers three main things to the Gilas cause — his experience, his skill-set, and his versatility.
Much like Chris Lutz, Marcio’s Lassiter’s main strengths are his skill-set, versatility, and experience. Some, in fact, may argue that Lutz and Lassiter play very similarly, and that, should coach Chot want a pair of players seamlessly subbing for each other, then these two are his men.
If I may offer a sliver of differentiation, though, this is it — whereas I think Lutz is the slightly better playmaker and slasher, I think Lassiter is the slightly better shooter, ball-handler, and defender. In the 2011 Wuhan joust, Lassiter played six games, averaging around 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. He was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Marcus Douthit. He defended guys like Rahseim Wright, Takuya Kawamura, Jet Chang, and Cho Sung-Min.
Right now in the 2013-2014 PBA Season, Lassiter is doing pretty well, averaging about 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 treys per outing. His one glaring flaw, however, is missing about a third of his free throws. He is a really solid two-way guy, but when it comes to crunch time and hitting those pressure-cooker freebies, Lassiter is not the odds-on favorite.
Why he is a good fit for Gilas:
Here’s the thing, though, I think that should the San Miguel group green light Lassiter for the World Cup, coach Chot wouldn’t think twice of putting the California State-Fullerton alum in the 24-man pool. The bottom line is Lassiter’s experience guarding all those top-tier FIBA Asia wingmen is invaluable, and, well, he’s significantly younger than Gary David, Larry Fonacier, and Jeff Chan. Putting Lassiter could prove to be a good move for the present and long-term.
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| Marcio Lassiter in action for Gilas way back in the 2010 Asian Games. (image by Hannah Johnston/Getty Images) |
Potential match-ups:
FIBA-Asia: Hamed Afagh (IRI), Kim Min-Goo (KOR), Lin Chih-Chieh (TPE)
FIBA World Cup: Manu Ginobili (ARG), Krunoslav Simon (CRO), Konstatinos Sloukas (GRE)
Should Lassiter get the nod at the 2 spot, he’ll have the unenviable task of guarding one of the most successful “imports” in the NBA - Manu Ginobili. I’m sure Lassiter will relish at the chance to go at the multi-titled Argentine, but he might get more than he asks for, too. Still, I believe Lassiter has enough in him to give even Manu, and the others on that list, a stiff fight.
In the next post, we’ll begin evaluating possible candidates at point guard, and we’ll begin with an obvious choice — San Mig Coffee’s Mark Barroca.
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8 Comment
akala ko b bawal n cla lutz at lassiter?
BalasBased on the Eligibility guidelines of FIBA, Lutz and Lassiter should be eligible because Sec-Gen Patrick Baumann already allowed them to play in 2011. The Sec-Gen's decision then should clear them for any and all FIBA tourneys thereafter.
Balashi enzo. i don't think the "lutziters" are eligible to play for our country anymore as "locals" in line with the hagop rule which was implemented in 2011 and now enforced in all fiba regions. according to the rule, only those who have acquired the passport of the country they will play for before turning 16 years old will be allowed to play as "locals."
Balasthe "lutziters" were only allowed to play in the 2011 fiba asia as a one-time compromise due to the intercession of fiba executive baumann. thereafter, though, they shall no longer be allowed to suit up not unless any one of them competes as a "naturalized" player.
I think between the two of them, Lutz is also the better ball-handler, while the better slasher and playmaker. I'd give Lassiter the better range shooter though, and the better perimeter defender.
BalasI do hope both of them gets to be in the pool, that would open up a challenge for David and Fonacier to be better players both on offense and defense. (I think Chan has already won Chot's heart as the primary 2 for Gilas)
I will choose Lassiter over Lutz because he has much better decision making on the court. In the semis series against RoS, Lutz was just piling TOs after TOs.
Balascoach chot should pick the former players of the Philippines. Because they are fresh and strong in the hardcourt unlike Gary and Larry do. Anyway, there are 11 more slots in the Gilas pool....
BalasLaban Pilipinas! PUSO!
I dont understand why. Why they only get to practice as a team only by july.
BalasHell, if they really look forward to advance to the next round, then at the end of the phil. Cup, the 12 players from last year, since they are tge priority players, should already start training again as a team. Run instinctive plays. Improve team defense. Train religiously, especially our bigmen and our shooters.
Prepare differently and specifically for each team in group b. Thats the only way if gilas ever hopes to have a chance at cracking the next round. If it fought hard against korea, it would take more than just playing hard against any of the teams.
It would even be already an achievement if it would at least manage a -15 deficit against Argentina, Greece, Croatia.
Cmon, other teams prepare at least 3 months prior to world cup. Even heavyweight teams prepare hard. How nuch more a team like Philippines
Gilas should at least try not to look like Lebanon or Tunisia in this World cup.
No. The time for coach chot to assemble his team is now. (Except for Pingris and Chan Norwood).
The available players should start practicing now. They should vent their dissapointments in the gym.
We need size to compete with 2 countries only, CROATIA and GREECE. These 2 teams are tall enough to negate our advantage in speed. Getting Slaughter and Dillinger would be a good fit for us to compete. I think we can win up to 3 games (3-2 record beating PR, Croatia, and Senegal) in a very good shooting days. But I dont see our team beating Argentina and Greece yet. I saw Stancovic Cup held in China last year, Argentina team B (without their stars) beat China by 20+ points.
BalasReply