FROM BEYOND THE ARC By: Police Chief Inspector Rico C Santotome Jr (OS), RN, MPM Slaughter & Lassiter: A Pair Of Stunning Withdrawals So Greg Slaughter and Marcio Lassiter wont be in a Gilas uniform come the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain in late August after the duo went public and backed out from the 17-man national team pool which is under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff led by mentor Chot Reyes. Their withdrawal was not expected and sans a doubt, it raised some eyebrows in the local basketball scene while linking Slaughter and Lassiters simultaneous act with their being under two San Miguel Corporation teams-Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Miguel Beermen, respectively. Although the pair made it clear that their actions were due to what they deemed as a show of respect to the original 12-man roster which bagged the silver medal during last years FIBA Asia Championship for Men hosted by Manila, cage pundits believe otherwise. Slaughter and Lassiter were added to the Gilas pool by Reyes along with Rain or Shines Paul Lee and Meralcos Jared Dillinger although the latter two didnt make a similar act. Thats why Philippine Basketball Association followers are raising some eyebrows with the latest development in local hoopdom. Was it merely a coincidental thing that the pair came from the two SMC quintets? Or was the withdrawal really a show of respect for the original Gilas Pilipinas roster led by naturalized player Marcus Douthit and Jayson Castro of Talk N Text? The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind as the song of singer Bob Dylan goes... Their highly questionable acts reduced the pool to 15 plus the impending naturalization of the Brooklyn Nets Andray Blatche. If the National Basketball Association player gets naturalized in time, Douthit will be relegated to the reserve list while three more will be eased out from the 12-man final roster. I have this feeling that the final three players to be cut will be Beau Belga, Gary David and either between LA Tenorio or Lee. The Bolts Dillinger will be a cool playmaker for the Nationals in tandem with Gabe Norwood and for this, Coach Chot needs to unload one of his smaller backcourt players be it Tenorio, Alapag or Lee. Lassiter of the Beermen could have been a perfect addition to the FIBA World Cup-bound team with his agility, shooting prowess and excellent ballhandling skills but it is of my opinion that his supposed stint in Spain that went abrupt was prevailed upon by his bosses same as that of the 7-1 Slaughter of the Gin Kings. It is a well known fact that PLDT big boss Manny V Pangilinan (of Talk N Text and Meralco) is well supportive of the Gilas program since 2009 or even earlier with the Smart Communications Group currently figuring in a bitter rivalry with the three SMC ballclubs including All-Filipino champion San Mig Super Coffee. And with the impending entry of expansion teams Blackwater Sports, another SMC quintet, and the five-time PBA D-League champs NLEX Road Warriors (of the PLDT Group), the rivalry is anticipated to continue and this alone will make the PBA more competitive in as much as the fans are concerned but sadly, to the detriment of the national cage interest as the country tries to regain the good old days of Philippine basketball in the international scene. A wait-and-see game, huh! (For comments, you may forward them to my mobile number: 09192777888 or you may send your messages to my E-mail/Facebook account: ricosantotome@yahoo or follow me in my Twitter account: RicSantotomeJr)
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 02:22:57 +0000
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