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    Gilas could use a few more shooters, says Allan Caidic

    One of the greatest shooters to don the Philippine jersey weighs in on Gilas' shooting - or lack of it
    Sep 14, 2023
    allan caidic, robert bolick, heading, wright, lassiter
    PHOTO: Spin.ph

    ACKNOWLEDGED as one of the greatest shooters in Philippine basketball ever, Allan Caidic unwittingly finds himself turning into some sort of a sad refrain after each failed campaign by the national team overseas.

    "Sana may shooters tayo kagaya ni ..."

    That has been one particular knock on the Gilas Pilipinas team that competed in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup, where it went a frigid 39-of-131 from three-point territory while losing four and winning one of five games before home fans.

    READ: The long, long wait for the 'next Allan Caidic'

    Its 29.8-percentage from beyond the arc, in fact, ranked 26th overall at the end of the World Cup won for the first time by Germany - meaning, there were only six teams which shot the long ball worse than the host nation.

    Caidic smiled when told about the abysmal numbers, but was quick to say that the percentage doesn't necessarily reflect the shooting ability of the present-day Gilas team, especially its long-range gunners.

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      Any comparison between him and Gilas' present shooters is also unfair, he added.

      "Noong kasing panahon ko sa national team, plays were called for me. Sine-set up ako so I can get a good look at the basket, to put me in a position to make the shot," Caidic, a former PBA MVP and member of the league's 25 Greatest, said.

      "So ako, alam ko kung kailan ako titira, at handang-handa ako." That is so unlike Gilas' shooters, Caidic said, adding, "Ngayon, depende kung malibre sila, then they take the shot. So mahirap. Parang emergency situations lang. So you're not ready (to shoot)"

      LOOK: Chip Engelland in happy reunion with NCC teammates

      Caidic, 60, was a key figure in the Northern Consolidated-backed national team that won championships in the PBA and the Jones Cup and still stands as the last Philippine side to become Asian champion back in 1985 in Kuala Lumpur.

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      Ironically, his last call-up at age 35 came with the Centennial Team that won a bronze medal in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games under Tim Cone, who is now tasked to lead Gilas' quest for a medal at the 2023 Asiad in Hangzhou in nine days' time.

      allan caidic Samboy lim

      The former UE star, however, was careful not to pass judgement on national teams that came after them, more so the most recent iteration of Gilas under Chot Reyes.

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      But pressed on what he felt was lacking in the team, Caidic said he would've preferred allotting the last few spots in the World Cup lineup to shooters rather than to players who more or less played the same way as the starters.

      Off the top of his head, Caidic, who played in four Asian Games from 1986 to 1998, mentioned the names of Matthew Wright, Marcio Lassiter, Jordan Heading and Robert Bolick, who he said may not be a pure shooter but owns one of the best three-point shooting percentages while playing for the national team.

      centennial team

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      Still, Caidic believes the NCC-backed squad's biggest weapon that recent Gilas teams didn't have was a bond that was forged through months and months of time together, either training at home or competing overseas.

      "It boils down to chemistry," said Caidic. "Kami noon, ilang taon kaming magkakasama. Year-round ang training tapos tournaments sa Europe or kung saan."

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