CHICAGO - When Pinoy fans began chanting his name late in Gilas Pilipinas' 66-57 victory over Iraq on Saturday at the King Abdullah Sports City, the continued benching of Jamie Malonzo in the ongoing 2025 FIBA Asia Cup graduated into an international incident.
And perhaps that very public plea and the potential PR backlash from confused and infuriated diehards was what prompted coach Tim Cone to finally explain why one of our best national team players is being iced in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia..
Without offering any specifics, Cone told Rappler "it's hard playing all 12 players with that much talent on the team and no one feels worse about not playing [Malonzo] than me."
READ Oftana says unlikely to play in Gilas game vs Saudi Arabia
Which essentially means Malonzo, a decorated Gilas soldier, is the least usable cog among the 12 we sent to this continental showpiece.
So, Cone is basically telling us that the same player he rode like a pony during the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs, the same player who scored 22 points in a Game Seven against san Miguel, is suddenly a third stringer right now.
Give. Me. A. Break.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE SILLINESS.
"Jamie is our Jayson Tatum," Cone added, referencing the Boston Celtics star who went through a pair of uncomfortable DNP-CD (Did Not Play- Coach's Decision) episodes in the 2024 Paris Olympics last August.
First of all, Gilas, as much as we worship it, cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Team USA talent-wise. Secondly, Tatum was initially benched in favor of future Hall-of-Famer and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant.
In the second DNP Tatum endured, Team USA played powerhouse Serbia led by Nikola Jokic, arguably the best player in the universe.
In one of the three Malonzo DNPs, Gilas played Chinese-Taipei, which got hammered by New Zealand by 40 points.
You don't have to be a basketball savant to know that this wasn't a "math problem," but more likely related to the Fil-Am's flight to the Japan B.League from Barangay Ginebra in the PBA, a team coached by Cone.
THE TIME IS NOW.
"Just like what USA Basketball chief Grant Hill didn't do, the federation won't interfere with coach Tim's personnel decisions," a Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) official told me on Sunday night when asked if the growing clamor to field Malonzo would spur them into action.
I agree, It's a line that cannot be crossed, pretty much like honoring the separation of church and state.
But don't worry, folks, Cone assures us Jamie's "time will come."
Impaired by a sprained right ankle, TNT juggernaut Calvin Oftana told me today that he is likely a no-go versus Saudi Arabia in their win-or-go-home qualification match this coming Tuesday.
If Oftana won't play and Malonzo still gets a DNP it then becomes clear, beyond any reasonable doubt, that there's more to the former Gin Kings' exclusion than just basketball Xs and Os.
And this is why other programs from neighboring countries have eclipsed us because politics in Philippine basketball always gets in the way of progress.
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