HE may have past skirmishes on the court with Beau Belga, but naturalized player Marcus Douthit is all for the inclusion of the burly Rain or Shine center in the Gilas Pilipinas training pool.
Douthit, the only remnant of the original Smart Gilas five, thinks Belga is a smart addition to the team that has already been plagued by injuries even before its campaign in the coming FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship.
"Beau is a very physical big guy, similar to Ranidel (de Ocampo) with how he spaces the floor. He’s smart. He only had 2-3 practices with the team, and he already got the offense down,” he said prior to departing with the Gilas team for Lithuania where the nationals will undergo training camp for the next two weeks.
In the few times Belga attended practice of the team, Douthit readily got enamored with Belga that if given the choice, he’ll have the former Philippine Christian University stalwart be included in the team’s final 12-man roster for the August 1-11 qualifier for the Fiba-World Championship next year.
“I am happy he’s here and he’s helping us and hopefully at the end of the day when coach chooses the final 12, he’s there,” said Douthit, adding Belga’s presence lessened his load a bit at manning the frontcourt for Gilas.
“I see what he does on and off the court. He hits the opponent if you need him to, he’ll pick you up off the court if you need him to,” added Douthit.
And other than his admirable outside shooting and tenacious defense, Douthit sees Belga excelling in yet another department that would not reflect on the stat sheets.
“He got into my nerves the first time (we played against each other),” said Douthit smiling.
“So why can’t he piss players from other countries as well. We’ll need that,” he added with a wink.
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