the tianjin report card

For the nth time, the RP Team's campaign ended in frustration and disappointment. And I'm still in a state of shock. Period. But I'm not gonna dwell on the what-if's and what-might-have-been's anymore. That just makes it all the more depressing.

Instead, allow me to dish it like your least-favorite highschool teacher. The make-up of the 2009 NT is arguably the most arguable in years, mainly because of the non-selection of guys like Jimmy Alapag, Dondon Hontiveros, and Homer Se. So I guess it would be nice to look back and rate how the Chosen 12 represented the P.I.

Jay-Jay Helterbrand, PG.
Now I remember why I hated him in Tokushima. He keeps on dribbling outside the arc, rarely drives to the basket, and almost always ends up chucking a desperation trey or a long two. The consolation in Tianjin is that he limited his TO's and actually had an exceptional 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio midway through the tournament. But if you're coming off an MVP season in the pros, you simply have to do better than that. Grade: D.

Willie Miller, PG.
If there's one thing this NT first-timer was successful at, it's making the rest of Asia realize that he's a legit scoring threat even at this level. The knock on "Thriller Miller" though is that he was actually playing pointguard, and his playmaking often left much to be desired. But he compensated for this by being the second best rebounder on the team (discounting the 2 games he was out). Hence, his final grade stays. Grade: B+.

Cyrus Baguio, SG.
Undoubtedly the most maligned member of Team Pilipinas, "Skyrus" (yes it's corny but it somehow works) proved that he deserves the spot if only for his open-court brilliance. I would have given him a higher grade if his defense was not limited to ball-hawking and passing-lane incursions. Grade: B+.

James Yap, SG.
When on fire, Yap showed he can be one of the most dangerous shooters in Asia. He was a marked man a few days into the tourney and not surprisingly led the team in conversions made from behind the arc. Unfortunately, he also led the league in crappiest fouls made and was not too far behind in giving the "pa'no-naging-foul-'yun" look after every stupid foul. Grade: B.

Gabe Norwood, PG/SG/SF.
There were two Norwoods who showed up in Fiba-Asia. GabeV1.0, who played in the first 4 games, was a waste of roster space, firing blanks from all over and was hesitant with the leather. Fortunately, GabeV.2.0 emerged during the Iran game and was an absolute stud thereafter. Who knows what would have happened if that version was present against Korea? When the dust settles though, people will remember him for that all-guts performance versus Jordan (and then maybe for his passionate tweets). Grade: C+.

Jared Dillinger, SG/SF.
He continues to suck from the foul line, but Dillinger's contributions goes beyond the boxscores. He is practically the only guy on the roster who had no second thoughts in challenging the 8-foot-6 Hamed Haddadi and the 9-foot-2 Ha Seung Jin. He provided energy on both ends of the floor, and while he may appear out of control from time to time, there's no questioning this guy's heart. He has earned my respect as well as my Twitter following. Grade: B.

Arwind Santos, SF.
The former FEU star was touted as the do-it-all man before the tourney started. Can shoot, can run, can block, can defend. But a few games in, he appeared lost on the court--was a tad slow against athletic wingmen and was too thin against the bigger forwards. From do-it-all, he eventually ended up doing only one thing: cheering from the bench. Grade: D.

Kerby Raymundo, PF.
If this were any other player, I would have given a passing grade. But this is Kerby Raymundo folks, one of our top 3 players in 2007 and probably the most offensively gifted power-forward we've had in years. In Tokushima, his inside forays resulted in one of two things: free throws or field goal conversions. In Tianjin, it resulted in one of three things: turnovers, wild shots, or even wilder shots. I'm starting to believe his head was never into this at all. He complained about the practice schedules months ago, threatened to quit, and then was seen laughing his way around during the Jones Cup. It's just sad that one of the heroes of the Chot Reyes-mentored squad would go out like this. Grade: F.

Japeth Aguilar, PF/C.
If I were to rate a player's performance by virtue of one's dunk attempts, the former Hilltopper would definitely be tops. But I don't think it would be fair to grade him at all as he was MIA for majority of the tournament. Grade: N/A

Sonny Thoss, PF/C.
There were days when Thoss played like an A. But there were also days when he was a non-factor out there. The thing with him is that although he's relatively quick and mobile for a center, he spent lots of time at the 4-spot, where he was not that effective against versatile power-forwards. And he still needs to be consistent with that outside jumper of his. Grade: C+.

Asi Taulava, C.
There's only so much you can ask from a 58-year old Fil-Tongan center. And generally speaking, we got what we asked for. I would have wanted more playing time for the NT veteran but his non-existent range probably factored in on the coaching staff's decision. Nevertheless, he still had his moments despite going up against bigger and tougher centers. Grade: B.

Mick Pennisi, C.
You know what you're gonna get from this guy everytime he steps on the court: three-pointers and the occasional hard foul. And for the most part, he delivered. I only wish he could jump and rebound, and maybe avoid getting himself into spots he's not comfortable in. But then again, you have to take the bad with the good. Grade: C+.

And so, at the bottom of the ladder are Helterbrand, Santos, and Raymundo. If Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams were healthy, they probably would have taken the spots of the first two--but I promised not to dwell on the "what-if's" so that discussion ends there.

I just hope this learning experience does not result in another learning experience. I'm sure we've all had enough heartbreakers in the bag.