Gilas group stage opponents’ preview: Puerto Rico and “The Santos Strangler”

Someone on Twitter quipped that San Miguel Beermen forward Arwind Santos should be flown to Seville so that his mere presence can intimidate his former import teammate that tried to squeeze the life out him a couple of years ago. I actually told “The Kraken” June Mar Fajardo a few weeks back to seek revenge on behalf of his mate. He just smiled and said, “Ako na bahala dun.”
 
Well, kidding aside, Renaldo Balkman and the rest of the Puerto Ricans may just have to resort to desperation as their second round hopes are beginning to dwindle following big losses in their first three games in the group stages.
 
Puerto Rico first burst into the global scene in 1980 by winning the FIBA Americas championship—a feat they repeated in 1989 and 1995. Legendary players in Jose Ortiz (the first Puerto Rican to play in the NBA) and the late Fico Lopez were their one-two punch. In 1990, Puerto Rico advanced to the semifinals of the Worlds and finished fourth, which is by far their best result in this tournament.  In that edition, they defeated world powers Argentina, Yugoslavia and the United States but were crushed by USSR in the semis and eventually fell to team USA in the bronze medal match.
 
However, they continued to be on the radar in international competitions and have consistently qualified for the Worlds due to their steady podium finishes (except for the 2006 tourney—where they were awarded a wild card slot) in the FIBA Americas.
 
Here’s the composition of the 2014 squad:
 
4 Ramon CLEMENTE PF 6’6” (Indios de Mayaguez-Puerto Rico)
5 Jose Juan BAREA PG 5’11” (Minnesota Timberwolves-USA)
6 Alex FRANKLIN SF 6’6” (Indios de Mayaguez-Puerto Rico)
7 Carlos ARROYO PG 6’2” (Galatasaray-Turkey)
8 Angel VASSALLO SF 6’6” (Leones de Ponce-Puerto Rico)
9 Carlos RIVERA SG 6’2” (Leones de Ponce-Puerto Rico)
10 Jorge DIAZ C 6’11” (Piratas de Quebradillas-Puerto Rico)
11 Ricky SANCHEZ PF 6’11” (Cangrejeros de Arecibo-Puerto Rico)
12 David HUERTAS SG 6’5” (Piratas de Quebradillas-Puerto Rico)
13 Renaldo BALKMAN PF 6’7” (Capitanes de Arecibo-Puerto Rico)
14 Alexander GALINDO PF 6’7” (Cangrejeros de Santruce-Puerto Rico)
15 Daniel SANTIAGO C 7’0” (Cangrejeros de Santruce-Puerto Rico)
 
Head Coach: Francisco “Paco” OLMOS Hernandez (Cangrejeros de Santruce-Puerto Rico)

We’ve already seen how Argentina massacred their South American rivals and how Senegal and Greece used brute force to score a victory. Looking at the height of the Puerto Ricans, they’re not that far off from the Gilas roster. Sure they have one seven footer and twol others just a shade under, but Olmos and his offense is all about trying to run their opponents to the ground—a ploy that hasn’t worked for them in the slightest thus far.
 
It was actually surprising how Argentina crushed them. Traditionally—and since there are several members from both line-ups that have faced each other numerous times in past competitions—Argentina pulls away at the twilight of the game as their superior half court game allows them to control the tempo in the end. However, only Barea and Balkman have actually exhibited signs of trying to keep it close.
 
Arroyo is not that old—he’s 35, two years younger than Jimmy Alapag—and still has the spitfire game working for him, but not the way he used to toy with bigger defenders. Since Barea joined the nationals a few years ago, Arroyo’s contributions have gone down significantly. His legs aren’t what they used to be and it showed, especially against Senegal when he had to sit out the last three periods due to an ankle injury. That same injury caused him to miss Puerto Rico’s game against Greece.

 
This version of the Puerto Ricans should be less challenging to Gilas.
 
Balkman remains one of the hardest working big men in international basketball and if not for that infamous incident during his stint in the PBA might have even gone on to capture Best Import honors. He did, however, get feted with a Mythical Team selection in the 2013 FIBA Americas and his basketball prowess still demands respect. He’s still a rebounding monster, a strong fastbreak finisher and an intimidating presence in the paint—despite his size.
 
His size, though, will work against him against Andray Blatche of even The Kraken during the post battles. But that’s why they have additional length in Santiago (the oldest member of the team at 38), Sanchez and Diaz. Of the three, it is Sanchez that many NBA and Euroleague scouts are watching intently because of his quick dropstep, decent midrange game and defensive instincts. However, he has a tendency to handle the ball too long in the post and that bodes well for the quick shifting Philippine defenses as he is turnover waiting to happen.
 
The focal point of the Puerto Ricans, however, will still be the cat-quick Barea. Gabe Norwood once told me he was assigned to guard Barea in college.
 
“I held him down to 35 points,” the feisty Filipino defensive specialist joked.

 
There’s a reason why Barea is still in the NBA despite being an undersized playmaker. The Gilas guards will have their hands full against the former Northeastern star as he is like a bigger version of Johnny Abarrientos with the basketball IQ of Olsen Racela. Barea won’t hesitate to set up his teammates and innately knows each one’s strengths and weaknesses i.e. he’ll never leave a fastbreak pass to Sanchez, nor will he kick it out to Franklin who is not known for his range. LA Tenorio may have to bring out the “hand of god” again versus Barea, but he just might be too quick to strike.
 
But Barea and Balkman are the only easily identifiable strongholds of the present squad. The injury to Arroyo in the Senegal game could loom large and of all the nations grouped with the Pinoys, this is their best opportunity to score a win.
 
Gilas has been impressive so far, but that hasn’t translated to the win column yet. With their final two matches being against these Puerto Ricans and the surprising Senegalese, it looks like it’s going to be a mad dash for a ticket to the second round. Regardless, Gilas has made a statement to the basketball world and what better statement could the boys give than to register a win against one of the known powers of the Americas?
 
The Gilas PIlipinas-Puerto Rico game will be shown live at 7:30PM on September 3 on BTV.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com