Fajardo injures knee, but not ACL, says coach

Looks like the renewal of a rivalry will wait a bit longer.

It has earlier been posted on Spin.ph that Petron giant June Mar Fajardo had injured its right knee in practice, and now Gee Abanilla, current head coach of Petron, has confirmed that Fajardo wll be out for the much-awaited Petron-Ginebra match.

Good news for the Booster’s fans though: Doctors ruled out a potential ACL injury.

“Although hindi pa rin s'ya puwede (for the Ginebra game) because we're still waiting for the official announcement from doctors, pero 'yung kinakatakutan namin na baka ACL, di naman.”

"As it is, may injury pa rin talaga. Pero (June Mar) being sidelined for more than six months, medyo wala na sa equation.",  said Abanilla.

Abanilla, though, said that orthopedic surgeon George Canlas has yet to interpret the MRIR result on June Mar’s knee, which according to the coach was twisted after stepping on the foot of primary back-up center Doug Kramer during a 5-on-5 scrimmage. (GS)

Who to change in Gilas Pilipinas?

With the FIBA Basketball World Cup coming in 8 months, I think I would like to make my own roster for Team Pilipinas. Okay, okay, some may say that this is too early, but I'd like to make this a monthly (or on a two-week basis, it depends) watch till the World Cup, as players tend to change games, up or down, so some may be removed, some may be added.

So, let us start by reviewing the current line-up of Smart Gilas Pilipinas, shall we?

Name	Pos.	#	Age	Ht.	Club
Alapag, Jimmy	PG	4	35	5 ft 9 in	Talk n' Text
Tenorio, Lewis Alfred	PG	5	29	5 ft 8 in	Barangay Ginebra
Chan, Jeffrei Allan	G/F	6	30	6 ft 2 in	Rain or Shine
William, Jayson	PG	7	27	5 ft 11 in	Talk n' Text
David, Gary	G/F	8	35	6 ft 2 in	Meralco
de Ocampo, Ranidel	PF	9	31	6 ft 5 in	Talk n' Text
Norwood, Gabriel Daniel	G/F	10	28	6 ft 5 in	Rain or Shine
Douthit, Marcus	C	11	32	6 ft 11 in	Naturalized
Fonacier, Larry	G/F	12	31	6 ft 2 in	Talk n' Text
Fajardo, June Mar	C	13	23	6 ft 11 in	Petron Blaze
Aguilar, Japeth Paul	F/C	14	26	6 ft 10 in	Barangay Ginebra
Pingris, Jean Marc	PF	15	31	6 ft 5 in	San Mig Coffee
Belga, Beau	C/F	-	27	6 ft 6 in	Rain or Shine
Slaughter, Gregory	C	-	25	7 ft 0 in	Barangay Ginebra
Thoss, Joachim	C	-	32	6 ft 7 in	Alaska
Reyes, Ryan	G	-	30	6 ft 2 in	Talk n' Text
Williams, Kelly	F	-	31	6 ft 7 in	Talk n' Text
Dillinger, Jared	G/F	-	29	6 ft 5 in	Meralco

  
A pretty solid line-up, isn't it? However, the World Cup is in a class of its own. Most of the centers there are those tall but agile types (think Pau Gasol, Kevin Love). Point guards are super quick and tall by Philippine standards (Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook). So how will Philippines compete with teams like USA, France, Spain, etc.?

I believe three-point sniping will be the key for Philippines. Sure, run-and-gun may work, but unlike in FIBA-Asia, centers in the World Cup are sure to chase down every single fastbreak attempt by Gilas. Fonacier, David, Tenorio, Alapag, and Chan will be relied on the three-point sniping. When the defense spreads out, then Douthit, Fajardo, and Pingris can operate inside.

But will the shooters be consistent? David has been really inconsistent the last FIBA-Asia, and if that slump continues on the international stage, then Coach Chot Reyes can't afford to put him in clutch situations. So, I guess David could go out of the line-up for a while. Also, the 1-time PBA Best Player of the Conference is at an old age (35).

So, my choices lead down to Paul Lee of Rain or Shine, Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort, and Marcio Lassiter of Petron. Romeo would immediately not be a choice due to his size, and I guess Mahdi Kamrani of Iran would be happy posting him up. I guess Lassiter's up sides are his experience in international basketball (2-time Philippine team member), his scrappy defense, and consistency with the three-ball. Lee, on the other hand, has that excellent upper body control, wide body, and also an aggressive mindset on attacking the basket.

Name	Pos.	#	Age	Ht.	Club
Alapag, Jimmy	PG	4	35	5 ft 9 in	Talk n' Text
Tenorio, Lewis Alfred	PG	5	29	5 ft 8 in	Barangay Ginebra
Chan, Jeffrei Allan	G/F	6	30	6 ft 2 in	Rain or Shine
William, Jayson	PG	7	27	5 ft 11 in	Talk n' Text
Lassiter, Marcio	G/F	8	26	6 ft 2 in	Petron Blaze
de Ocampo, Ranidel	PF	9	31	6 ft 5 in	Talk n' Text
Norwood, Gabriel Daniel	G/F	10	28	6 ft 5 in	Rain or Shine
Douthit, Marcus	C	11	32	6 ft 11 in	Naturalized
Fonacier, Larry	G/F	12	31	6 ft 2 in	Talk n' Text
Fajardo, June Mar	C	13	23	6 ft 11 in	Petron Blaze
Aguilar, Japeth Paul	F/C	14	26	6 ft 10 in	Barangay Ginebra
Pingris, Jean Marc	PF	15	31	6 ft 5 in	San Mig Coffee

I decided that Lassiter is a better choice for Smart-Gilas, as his great on-ball defense will work wonders against stars of the big league in the world. Also, his shooting touch, paired up with a quick first step, would be of great help for Philippines. His veteran smarts on the international floor is also a great addition to the team.

So, what are your thoughts? Will Lassiter really be a factor? Or should Gilas stick with Gary? Who knows? I'm not Chot Reyes, for heaven's sake. (GS)