"Can you play both sides of the ball?"
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers have officially concluded, the cast of 32 countries is complete, and now the talk is on building the final lineup for the main tournament in July.
Coach Chot Reyes said he had a lot of takeaways after the Asian Qualifiers, which is likely to be instrumental in selecting the Philippines' final twelve against the best teams in the world.
"More than the technical skills, what's more important are the attributes, their behavior, how good a teammate they are, how they perform outside the basketball court," Reyes said after the 90-91 loss to Jordan. "Are there guys who will be happy with limited minutes? Wil there be guys happy with limited touches? Or can they only function if they have the ball a lot in their hands?"
Another aspect is whether these players can actually play defense, as Jordan maximized the Philippines' lack of it during the first half of their game.
"Can you play both sides of the ball?" Reyes asked. "We're also looking at players who can defend, who can hold their own against really good international players."
"Those are the things that are very, very important in the things we do, our considerations."
Reyes has been vocal in praising the attitude of Gilas Pilipinas players beyond making baskets, highlighting Justin Brownlee as someone who "makes teammates better."
Reyes also noted that the 18-year-old Mason Amos, who had quite a breakout game for the senior men's national team, never missed a Gilas Pilipinas practice.
"Knowing the players, knowing their off-court behavior, knowing what they can do and how they fit... how we want to play and how they fit with each other, how fit they are physically... those are the three things that were the main takeaways that we have," he added. "We want to get the fittest of the players."