Jamie Malonzo is playing a role similar to that of a National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar after riding the bench in Gilas Pilipinas’ first three matches in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah.

Gilas coach Tim Cone branded Malonzo as the “Jayson Tatum” of the team after he logged three straight DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision) in the preliminaries of the prestigious continental showpiece.

Malonzo was reduced into a mere cheerleader when the Filipinos suffered an 87-95 loss to Chinese Taipei in the opener followed by another DNP-CD in their 86-94 loss to New Zealand and 66-57 win over Iraq.

Interestingly, Malonzo’s benching came in the wake of the announcement that he will be playing for the Kyoto Hannaryz in the Japan B.League, a decision hurt Cone and the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

Gilas is battling host Saudi Arabia for a spot in the quarterfinals at press time and it’s going to be interesting how Cone will utilize the high-flying Malonzo now that gunner Calvin Oftana is nursing an ankle injury.

“It’s hard playing all 12 players with this much talent on the team, and no one feels worse about not playing him than me,” Cone said in a text message from Saudi Arabia.

“He is our Jayson Tatum.”

Tatum, the star forward of the Boston Celtics, also made news when he saw limited minutes for Team USA in the Paris Olympics last year.

With future Hall of Famers like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry, Tatum saw reduced roles despite being fresh from winning a National Basketball Association title and signing a lucrative deal with the Celtics.

Team USA coach Steve Kerr stressed that Tatum’s limited playing time was due to the availability of Kevin Durant, which gave him the luxury of creating matchup problems for the opposing squad.

He also praised Tatum’s reaction to his reduced role, saying that he is truly a professional who rallies behind his teammates and their bid to win the gold medal instead of worrying about his personal goals.

Cone said Malonzo also displays the same level of professionalism that Tatum displayed during the Summer Games.

“All 12 guys are committed to each other and Jamie is showing great professionalism in handling his role,” Cone said, adding that Malonzo will be deployed sooner than later.

“His time will come.”