Time's Running Short: Gilas to Move Forward without Ray Parks

If you haven't realized it yet, the game between Gilas Pilipinas and Thailand is slated to happen on February 20, 2020, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  Only 13 days before the first game of the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in which Gilas will also face Indonesia away from home on the 23rd. 

As Tab Baldwin said, time is not a luxury that they have right now.

Mark Dickel's appointment as interim head coach of the national team for the first window is just a few days in and they're already facing potential problems. For one, the team's two best big men, Japeth Aguilar and Christian Standhardiner begged off from the training pool. Standhardinger is dealing with a recurring knee injury and is not expected to recover for this window. Aguilar, the Finals MVP for Ginebra's championship victory in the 2019 Governors' Cup, begged off from the national pool because he would be going on an extended honeymoon- a decision that Tab Baldwin and the rest of the coaching staff respected. After all, Aguilar worked hard both in the PBA and with the national team last year. 

Not to mention, Matthew Wright is also doubtful for this month's window due to conflicts in his schedule.

And then, there's the Ray Parks puzzle.

As of now, Ray Parks is still included in the 24-man pool and is one of Mark Dickel's players from the TNT KaTropa alongside RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario. However, Ray Parks' contract has expired at the end of last season that saw him get traded by the Blackwater Elite to the KaTropa. In simple words, Parks is currently a free agent but it has been reported that he and TNT management are already mopping up a deal for the son of one of the greatest imports to play in the PBA, to stay in TNT, at least this upcoming PBA season.

And while Ray Parks is among the pool players who showed for practice earlier this week, the already decreased number of players from the 24-man pool will be down to just 21 players as Ray Parks is now listed as "doubtful" for this windows as according Baldwin himself, Parks has to fix his issues with the KaTropa. 

As far as withdrawal from the national team of key players goes by, this series of withdrawal is pretty much normal. Fortunately, the training pool still has enough talent and experience that can help Dickel form the best final 12 for this window. In fact, Dickel said that they still have a lot of good players who are capable of doing the job. And if there's one good thing about this window, it's the fact that both Thailand and Indonesia were among the ASEAN teams who experienced the wrath of Gilas Pilipinas coached by Tim Cone during last year's SEA Games here in the country. Not to underestimate both Thailand and Indonesia for both are respectable opponents for our team but in terms of firepower, our players still have the edge. With or without Ray Parks in a Gilas uniform, the team will have more than enough talent, experience, and manpower to complete the mission in this window. 

It now goes down to who Mark Dickel and the rest of the coaching staff pick as the final 12 players who will play on the 20th and the 23rd. That, and if the pool has already built up working chemistry by then.   

Photo is from Hoop Nut