MANY years ago, Chris McCullough expressed interest in playing for Gilas Pilipinas. That was in 2019 when the American played for San Miguel Beer and helped the team win the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
But now the idea apparently does not excite him as much. When asked by reporters last Sunday if the desire still burns, the now-TNT Import simply shrugged off the question and said: “We aren’t going to talk about that no more.”
READ Upshaw, Johnson, et al as Gilas 'naturalized?' Cone fires warning
McCullough, tapped as a quick replacement for the injured Bol Bol, did not elaborate, a far cry from those heady days of 2019 when his game apparently drew praise from basketball officials that some considered him a candidate for naturalization.
His reaction may be surprising to many because recent reports indicated that quite a number of foreign players have reportedy inquired about getting naturalized so they can play for Gilas.
The reason is perhaps McCullough thinks the window for him to be naturalized has passed. Since his last stint with San Miguel seven years ago, a few players have managed to get Philippine citizenship.
Chief among them are Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame. And currently, the citizenship papers of Bennie Boatwright are being fast-tracked in Congress so he can play for Gilas in the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan later this year. And then there is Malick Diouf who may soon become naturalized after a bill that gave him Filipino citizenship is about to lapse into law.
McCulluogh's lack of interest may be traced back to what happened before. Last January 2020, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio reached out to McCullough on X/Twitter, saying to send him a DM.
What happened afterwards? No one knows, but your guess is as good as mine. - Reuben Terrado
TNT Tropang 5G's Achilles heel
While some may consider the third time as a charm, in TNT's case, it has become an alarm.
In a span of six months, the team has been hit by three major injuries, all from one source: the Achilles heel. It may just be coincidence but the spate of this injury hitting three people, two of them active players, has caused considerable pain not only to the people involved, but to the championship aspirations of the Tropang 5Gs.
Quite literally, the injuries have become TNT's Achilles heel.
It all started with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, then deputy coach Ranidel de Ocampo followed and perhaps most depressing of all, the injury hit Bol Bol at the time when the import had become acquainted with the local game and appeared poised to lead the team to championship glory.
“Nasimulan kay Rondae,” said a TNT source. “Sunud-sunod na.”
Hollis-Jefferson suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing on loan for Meralco in the last East Asia Super league Home and Away season.
The injury has sidelined the former NBA player for months, leaving him unavailable for the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup where he was signed to play all the way to the Governors’ Cup, where the Tropang 5G are both the defending champions.
The absence of RHJ paved the way for TNT to tap another ex-NBA player in Bol Manute Bol for its title-retention bid in the tournament that offers unlimited height among imports.
READ Weeks before Bol, TNT deputy Ranidel also suffered Achilles tear
Unfortunately, the 7-foot-3 Bol also had a partial Achilles tendon tear which he sustained in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Meralco Bolts last week, a development that may have all but ended the team's championship bid.
In between, the 44-year-old De Ocampo, one of Chot Reyes’s deputies at TNT, also tore his Achilles while playing in a mini-tournament in Tanza, Cavite.
“Sana wala ng kasunod,” added the source.
Hopefully, three is enough. - Gerry Ramos
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