Chambers fetes Gilas big men

Sean Chambers couldn’t help but marvel at the big men of Gilas Pilipinas that will see action in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament set in Latvia from 2 to 7 July.

Chambers said the Gilas slotmen are legit and branded 7-foot-2 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-9 June Mar Fajardo as “tremendous talents” who have what it takes to compete against the best players in Europe.

One of the best imports ever to play in the Philippine Basketball Association, Chambers is in town to help Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone in mapping out the plays.

His main role is to help Cone — his former coach during the glory years of Alaska — on their offense setup, specifically the implementation of the Triangle Offense.

He has been attending the Gilas training since Friday and would be at the sidelines when Gilas faces the national teams of Turkey and Poland in a pair of friendly matches before rolling to the Latvian capital of Riga to face Latvia and Georgia for the last remaining spot in the Summer Olympics.

Cone said having Sotto, Fajardo and 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar around will give them a chance to match the ceiling of the Europeans.

“Absolutely,” said the 59-year-old Cone when asked if Sotto, Fajardo and Aguilar have what it takes to stand their ground against the Europeans.

“Kai and June Mar are tremendous talented players,” he added in a separate social media post.

Sotto and Fajardo are no longer new to big-time events.

Despite being just 22 years old, Sotto had already seen significant action in various club leagues in Australia, United States, and Japan while competing for the Philippines in the previous FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Same goes for Fajardo, a seven-time PBA Most Valuable Player, and Aguilar, who had been playing for the national team since the first Gilas edition in 2009.

Aguilar, in fact, had already retired from the national team but returned to action after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas gave him a callup following the injury of 6-foot-10 AJ Edu.

Aside from Sotto, Fajardo and Aguilar, also part of Gilas’ big men rotation are 6-foot-8 Carl Tamayo, 6-foot-7 Kevin Quiambao and 6-foot-7 Mason Amos.

Cone, in a previous interview, said they have to be “creative” in defending the giants from Latvia and Georgia.

“We had AJ Edu who should be helping us defend their bigs. But now that we don’t have him, we have to be creative,” said Cone, whose wards are facing the Taiwan Mustangs in a friendly match at press time.