Lawrence Chongson's Got PEx

As pointed out by the local sports blog Fire Quinito and alluded to by myself on Twitter, former UE Red Warriors coach Lawrence Chongson has taken to posting at the UE Red Warriors III thread over at the Pinoy Exchange UAAP forums, and the result has been quite enlightening.

Fire Quinito has already gone and highlighted the passages involving Chongson's dismissal, the shrinking role of Bong Tan in Red Warriors management, and Paul Lee's non-inclusion in Team Gilas, but there's other juicy bits in there including:

• Chongson downplaying Rene Baena's role in the upswing of UE's fortunes in Round 2 last season
• Saying that he preferred Ponso Gotladera over Chris Javier
• A list of recruits that he had in the pipeline from abroad
• Roi Sumang's academic saga
• UE letting go of some of his recruits and him bringing them over to NU, including Henri Betayene
• Squelching the possibility of Paul Lee returning to UE to play
• My personal favorite, the chance that he could have been FEU's head coach for S74

No Ravena or Amer in Smart Gilas

Straight from Coach Toroman's mouth, via a GMA News report:

“We may not have problems from their respective schools once we make the request, but we will definitely encounter problems from the collegiate leagues, which they will play for this year," said Toroman in a telephone interview.

“It’s a short tournament, and we need to win as many games as possible. Our campaign in the PBA will be tough, so I don’t want to take a gamble," added Toroman

Toss in the fact that the chance of either making it to the final, PBA-reinforced roster that we're sending to the FIBA qualifying tournament is extremely tiny and the whole idea of Kiefer Ravena and Baser Amer being on the squad seems more ridiculous. 

Remember, it was not Toroman who said that they ought to be on the PBA roster. That was SBP vice-chairman Ricky Vargas. We never really got the sense that Toroman wanted either of them, so it's good that he comes out now and quashes this line of thinking before the summer collegiate preseason tournaments get underway, so that both Ravena and Amer can concentrate on practicing with their respective teams.

Ravena, Amer to the PBA?

Here's something unexpected, should the Smart Gilas team be allowed to play in the upcoming PBA conference, the squad could see the addition of two incoming freshmen, Kiefer Ravena and Baser Amer. From the Philippine Star:

"Straight from high school, Kiefer Ravena and Amer Baser would jump straight to pro play should the PBA board allow Smart Gilas’ to take over Barako Bull’s slot in the second conference.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas vice chairman Ricky Vargas said they intend to include the two Phl Youth standouts in the men’s training pool they hope will be allowed to play as guest team in the PBA reinforced tourney.

Ravena and Baser have just completed their eligibility in high school ball with Ateneo and San Beda, respectively.

If ever, they would be the first players to play in the PBA straight from high school since Terry Saldana of Letran."

Patricia Hizon wrote in her blog that the second tournament would be single-elimination and last from February 20 to about May 15. Right now, Gilas is lobbying to be included in the third tournament as well, which would last from about May 20 to around August 19.

One might immediately think that this would undoubtedly improve the two players' games, having to play against professionals (and imports, given that the next two conferences would be import-laden), but past exposure has shown that such is not the case. Despite much trumpeting, Magi Sison and JR Cawaling's games didn't show a lot of improvement from being included in Smart Gilas, due to the fact that the system they run there is quite different from what their college coaches run. And being included on the squads is a lot different from getting actual playing time. I find it hard to see either of the two dislodging JV Casio, Chris Tiu or Mark Barroca, to be specific.

Furthermore, this might even hurt the two players as it means their summer practice with their respective schools will be shortened, or they will feel more tired, having to shuttle back and forth between the PBA and tournaments like the Fil-Oil Preseason Tournament.

Looking ahead, should Gilas get the nod to play for the third conference this year, that means both will miss the first month of their respective collegiate tournaments. Then, should either of them get the nod to play in the Olympic qualifiers, that might mean that they might strongly consider red-shirting their freshman years, due to the large number of absences they will incur. I would imagine there would be quite a few fans in red and blue in uproar over that.

Finally, wouldn't the national team be better off including some of the country's up and coming big men like Arnold Van Opstal, Ray Ray Parks or Brian Organ, considering how the Gilas squad seems to struggle against the big men of opposing teams?

While it is an honor to play for one's national team, it entails a lot of sacrifices, and we'll have to see if the two are willing to make them.

EDITED TO ADD:

Executive Director of SBP Noli Eala tweeted the following this morning:

"Plan to tap HS stars Keiffer n Amer to play 4 Gilas in PBA is gud n well-meaning altho I honestly doubt if it w/ help Gilas at ths time."[sic]

"More importantly, I wonder what d UAAP n NCAA have to say abt this. Hope d 2 boys got the nod to play or they may get into trouble w/ rules."

 I personally think the nod from the collegiate leagues is a given, but the fact that we're asking the question in the first place ought to make people wonder if this is really such a good idea.

Codinera Confirms Lee's Exit

Newly-installed UE head coach Jerry Codinera confirmed the rumors that had been circulating since his hiring: his Red Warriors team will be playing Season 74 without superstar Paul Lee.

Lee averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists last season. Pic source here

As seen in articles in the Philippine Star and GMA News Sports, Codinera said that Lee left the squad without giving any particular reason, although some have Lee angling for a spot on the Smart Gilas team.

Lee's departure have the Warriors going into partial rebuild mode, as along with Lee, a handful of other players will no longer be playing as well.

Also graduating are spitfires Raffy Reyes and James Martinez, together with one and done big man Ezer Rosopa, who hit the UAAP's age limit. Furthermore, seldom-seen forward Garrick Ayala has been asked to leave as well, with the team citing multiple disciplinary infractions as the result.

Doubtful to play next season are big man San Razon, who suffered an ACL-injury, and another big man, Ivan Hernandez, due to an undisclosed injury.

The Warriors will instead rely heavily next year on Mythical Five member Kenneth Acibar, and first-year guard Roy Sumang, former Letran Squire.

Christian Standhardinger Does As His Name Says

I mentioned the possibility of the Smart Gilas squad targeting 6'8" Fil-German Christian Standhardinger a few Mondays ago, given that he had left Nebraska due to academic deficiencies, even going as far as to say that he could theoretically continue his education at Ateneo de Manila University.

Well it turned out that Standhardinger had in fact found a home at La Salle, the American university, not the one at Taft.

Unfortunately for him though, Standhardinger did as his name says, in public to boot, and got arrested for it, leading to his dismissal from La Salle.

That means he's free to be targeted by the SBP and any other local university that needs a foreign big man again, so you might want to keep an ear out for him.

FireQuinito.com has a bit about him too, comparing him another troubled potential recruit, Stanley Pringle.

Mailbag Mondays: 01/10/11

Q: What about the foreign-born players recruitment of ateneo? can you write something about them? word is there is a YOG player from Iran who wants to go to Katipunan
- - Basketphenome

CHF: Last question first; the notion that Ateneo has a prospect from Iran comes from an August 22 Tweet by Noli Eala. Said prospect was supposedly a point guard and member of the Iran U-17 team from 2009. Since then, no word.

If he is in fact with Ateneo, or at the very least, committed to Ateneo, he's got to be a season away at the very least (2011 would be his second residency year), and if he is already here, he's being hidden very well as he's not even a member of Team B. Should 2012 be his debut year, he'll be backing up Juami Tiongson and/or Mark Tallo Jr. for the foreseeable future unless he's really that much of a talent.

A pure foreign player being prepped for as early as Season 75 is Anthony Hargrove, a 6'5" power forward from the U.S. He came into Moro with a 6'2" small forward candidate, Dale (or Dave) Porter, who has a strong slashing game. The former is more of a lock to make the roster than the latter.

If you're looking for Fil-Ams, the SBP is supposedly targeting 6'8" Christian Standhardinger, a Fil-Am who left Nebraska because of academic deficiencies. Given the MVP connection, it's highly possible that he will continue his education in Ateneo, with the hope that he eventually makes the National Team.

There's some other random chatter out there: a few 6'7" 14 and 15 year olds being recruited, a 7' giant National Team possibility, but no definites.

Got a question of your own? Email chinoyhoopsfan@gmail.com