GILAS Pilipinas Youth's participation in the 19th Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup hasn't been as smooth as many expected.
Yet in the midst of a tough campaign, there are still gems who are looking to break through, standing out with their play and making strong cases for their inclusion in the final lineup.
Although we're not the ones to make that call - that falls on the shoulders of coach Juno Sauler - SPIN.ph has taken notice of a few players who we can say impressed us in their two games in the preseason league.
Bruce Tubongbanua
This should no longer be a surprise, but Tubongbanua has been stellar in his time with Gilas Youth. The UP Integrated School star continued to shine bright as he led the Nationals through two games in the Filoil tournament, standing out in a pool brimming with top talents. Tubongbanua is averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals, establishing himself as a dependable scorer despite coming off the bench at 21 minutes of play.
Ethan Aguas
Standing at 6-foot-4, Aguas has the body to match up with the bangers of the collegiate game. And he sure has proven that in his two games when he got the starting nod for Gilas Youth, performing admirably against elite forwards like Kirby Mongcopa and Gani Stevens. The University of the East stud is currently norming 9.0 points and 4.0 boards for the Nationals.
Kyle Sardon
The next generation of hotshots from the Visayas may have just arrived in the form of the sweet-shooting Sardon. The Binalbagan, Negros Occidental native, who studies at St. Robert's International College in Iloilo, went nuclear in the fourth quarter of Gilas Youth's game against UP, going on a perfect 5-of-5 clip from rainbow country in a span of five minutes. The 5-foot-11 gunner finished the game with a team-high 20 points on a superb 5-of-6 shooting from downtown for a fiery debut in the preseason tournament.
Prince Cariño
Cariño has played only one game so far for Gilas Youth, where he started and battled the Fighting Maroons' bigs in Veejay Pre, Stevens, and foreign student-athlete Deionte Miles. But the Far Eastern U-Diliman slotman held his own in those 16 minutes of action and logged five points and five rebounds that also went with one block on Jacob Bayla. Safe to say, we now understand why scouts are raving about this 16-year-old.
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Chog Moral
Talk about a must-see talent. Moral sure was put under the microscope in his first dip of action for Gilas Youth against UP. Although he was still a bit rough around the edges, he still manufactured five points and two assists in 17 foul-plagued minutes. The potential is there and the Kapampangan social media star can only get better the longer he meshes with his new teammates in the national team.
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