Juan and only

Just two days after torching Tim Cone and Barangay Ginebra, Juan Gomez de Liaño was given an invite to join Gilas Pilipinas in its preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.

The red-hot rookie is expected to be in attendance on the first day of Gilas training camp on Tuesday, especially now that it is expected to miss some crucial pieces due to their respective professional and personal commitments.

Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo, for instance, are doubtful as they still have a game with their respective clubs in the Korean Basketball League until 20 November while AJ Edu is set to get married. Of course, Kai Sotto remains out after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury last January.

The Filipinos will be opening the first window of the qualifiers against Guam on 28 November at the Calvo Fieldhouse in Mangilao village in Guam and 1 December at the Blue Eagle Gym inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City.

Gilas badly needs to sweep the first window if it wants to have a good chance of advancing to the next round. After all, its next assignments will not be easy as it faces powerhouse Australia and New Zealand in the second and third windows next year.

With that, Cone — also the Gilas coach — badly needs all hands on deck, including Gomez de Liaño who dropped 32 points to lead Converge to an impressive 106-96 win over the Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup last Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Right now, we’re considering him obviously. We’ll have him in practice,” Cone said following Ginebra’s 102-93 triumph over Phoenix on Sunday.

“We’ve had him in mind for a while. But it was a consensus on the coaching staff. Just feeling like that was a position that we felt we could use a little bit more of a scorer and a ball controller and a pick-and-roll guy.”

Cone added that the former University of the Philippines superstar is a pure playmaker who brings to the table a skillset that is way different than what they already have in Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome.

“Scottie’s not a three-level scorer. He’s just a pure hustle guy and a great defender and makes intangible plays that don’t show up. That’s why he’s so spectacular,” the 25-time PBA champion coach said.

“New (Newsome) is a guy that can also defend, and he has really, really improved his offense over the last couple of years.”

“But neither of them are, I would call, pure, pure point guards. They’re more one-twos and combo guards. So (Gomez de Liaño) and also RJ (Abarrientos) are two guys that can come out and run the pick-and-roll, spread the floor for us, do certain things like that.”

Gomez de Liaño is thrilled to hear his inclusion in the national pool, saying that he has been wishing to represent the country again following a forgettable Gilas debut two years ago.

“I’ve been working really hard toward this goal and waiting for another chance. Representing the country feels different — it hits differently,” said Gomez de Liaño, who played for Gilas in the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers, where he logged just 14 minutes in games against India and New Zealand.

“Since my last stint with Gilas, I’ve gone through many ups and downs that truly humbled me. I believe all those experiences helped me grow tremendously, and now I’m coming in more mature and ready to contribute in any way the team needs.”

“I understand the game much better now, and I hope I can help the team however I can.”

Aside from Gomez de Liaño, also expected to attend the national squad’s first day of training are June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Newsome, Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar as well as naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who is already in town to work on his conditioning.

Japan-based players Dwight Ramos and Edu are also expected to also join in the next few days with the B.League also on a respite for the FIBA break starting Monday.

Cone stressed that the only roadblock they are facing with Gomez de Liaño — and another former Fighting Maroon in Quentin Millora-Brown — joining Gilas is their familiarity with his system.

“QMB (Millora-Brown) and Juan will be the only ones who don’t know the system and need to be taught. They will be starting from ground zero,” Cone said.