SEA Games 2017 Preview: Philippines

The Philippines seat on the SEA Games Men’s Basketball throne might probably be the warmest it’s ever been in decades with teams pulling out all of the biggest weapons they can get.

Until someone actually does though, the Philippines is going to be the team to beat.

[อ่านภาษาไทย คลิกที่นี่เลยครับ]

Overview

Thailand and Indonesia got a taste of blood in SEA Games 2015 and they want more. They want the juicy stuff.

While the Philippines were able to ward off concerns by annihilating other teams by an average of 58.7 points in SEABA 2017, the SEA Games throne still isn’t safe as it’s always considered to be.

With complications due to the timing of the FIBA Asia Cup slightly over lapping with the SEA Games, the Philippines have been forced to send two different rosters to those two different competitions. While fans like to call them “Cadets”, that’s not to say that they are going to be any less talented (well, relatively less talented… but still).

Troy Rosario, Kevin Ferrer, Baser Amer, and Almond Vosotros are all back to defend their title as well as Kiefer Ravena who is aiming for his 4th straight SEA Games Gold Medal. As mentioned, how these players perform as well as how other teams perform against them should be a nice measuring stick of how far of basketball development in each countries are.

Von Pessumal, Raymar Jose, and Mike Tolomia were all part of the SEABA Stankovic 2016 team. Bobby Ray Parks has already played for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Team, while Carl Bryan Cruz and Christian Standhardinger have been having their moments in the FIBA Asia Cup 2017. This leaves Kobe Paras as the lone member without a senior team cap in a FIBA competition, though he’s starred at the youth level already.

The talent is all there for the Philippines and considerably higher than the squad from last SEA Games with those 5 holdovers. The team has been tuning up with college teams in the Philippines and most of the squad played in the Jones Cup in Taiwan. They should be more than prepared to take on the challenge that the teams will bring upon them.

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Players

First Name	Surname	DOB	Team
Von Rolfe	Pessumal	12/02/1993	San Miguel Beermen
Carl Bryan	Cruz	21/08/1991	Alaska Aces
Kevin	Ferrer	26/03/1993	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Chris Michael	Tolomia	06/01/1993	Meralco Bolts
Jeth Troy	Rosario	20/01/1992	Talk ‘N Text Katropa
Almond	Vosotros	26/01/1990	Blackwater
Raymar	Jose	06/08/1992	Kaohsiung Truth
Bobby Ray	Parks Jr.	19/02/1993	Alab Pilipinas
Kiefer	Ravena	27/01/1993	Alab Pilipinas
Kobe	Paras	19/09/1997	Cal. State Northridge
Christian	Standhardinger	04/07/1989	N/A
Baser	Amer	29/09/1992	Meralco Bolts

*As of the time this was written, Carl Bryan Cruz has yet to be officially replaced with Mac Belo

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Schedule (According to Malaysia Time GMT +8)

20/8 21:30 PM vs. Thailand
22/8 18:00 PM vs. Myanmar
23/8 18:00 AM vs. Malaysia

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Player(s) to Watch

Player	Notable Stats	Competition	Team
Baser Amer	26.5 MPG, 11.1 PPG, 16.6 PER	PBA	Meralco Bolts
Christian Standhardinger	23.4 MPG, 16.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG	FIBA Asia Cup 2017	Philippines
Kobe Paras	7.2 MPG, 2.0 PPG, 0.8 RPG	Jones Cup	Philippines

Watch out for Baser Amer. Ravena is going to hog the headlines with the feat he’s going after and how popular he already is, but Amer himself could possibly be the best guard in this group. He’s proved himself to be a star on the Meralco Bolts already and we might see him play a larger role than last time in SEA Games 2015.

Standhardinger is going to be the lone true big man on this team, with Jose and Rosario having evolved more into stretch 4s and maybe even 3s. It won’t be make or break for him to be effective (considering the talent around him), but his performance should dictate the gap between the competition.

While there is still some doubt concerning Paras’ overall skill level, his athleticism is off-the-charts. Keep an eye on him in fastbreak and backdoor cut situations and make sure those IG story cameras are rolling.

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What to Expect

Domination.

Last time in SEA Games 2015, Marcus Douthit was the only player considered to have played at the professional level. The rest of the team were still considered amatuers playing in the collegiate level (even though their talent level were obviously higher tan that).

This time around, they are all professional-level players (save for Paras), the majority playing quality minutes for their teams. If we take SEA Games 2015 as a benchmark and consider what each player has been through for the past two years, it’s not too farfetched to expect that the Philippines will be coming out to dominate.

They’ll push the tempo and press full-court just to blow it out as soon as possible. Expect pinpoint kickouts to Ferrer, Vosotros, Pessumal, Parks, or Ravena (heck almost everyone) who will be lurking in the corners.

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3 Key Points

1. Complacency
   There’s no room for complacency here. As of right now, the Philippines’ biggest enemy are themselves. The ball is round and they have to be prepared for anything.
   Fight every battle, everywhere, always, in your mind.
   LOL I just wanted an excuse to sneak that in.
2. Beware the Fouls
   Getting into foul trouble really throws you off your game. It seems like a pretty obvious statement to make, but it’s a legit concern for a team that’s projected to press and push. All it takes is a couple of 50/50 calls called on the wrong person twice to throw things off course.
3. Defend the Line
   Most upsets rely on a team catching fire from beyond the three-point line. It’s a quick way to put points on the scoreboard and it’s very demoralizing. The Philippines have got to keep the opposing teams in check and not giving them decent looks from that range.

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Bottom Line

Until proven otherwise, the Philippines are by far the outright favorites of this tournament. We’ve heard all the “the ball is round” and “anything is possible cliche”, but if you had a gun to your head to pick the SEA Games 2017 Men’s Basketball Gold Medalists, I think you’d be pretty fine if you pick the Philippines.

Men’s Basketball in the SEA Games is still the Philippines’ to lose and until they do, it’s hard to expect anything less than that.

More Previews

Philippines
Indonesia
Singapore
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Vietnam
Myanmar
Laos

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