Fil-Aussie pair ‘abandon’ Smart-Gilas

TOROMAN UNIMPRESSED?

By Julius Manicad

The Filipino-Australian pair of Sep Salinas and Matt Schemechtig quietly left Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team for Perth, Australia shortly after facing the Singapore Slingers in an exhibition game recently.

But, chances are, they will stay there for good.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) project director Rajko Toroman said they are having hard time evaluating the performance of Salinas and Schemechtig since they also play the same position like other local amateur standouts.

The 6-foot-4 sweet-shooting Salinas was bunched in the wing position with Rey Guevara, Dylan Ababou, JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos while 6-foot Schemechtig is too small at the No. 2 guard position, making it impossible for him to compete with Mark Barocca, RJ Jazul, JV Casio, Chris Tiu and, probably, Chris Lutz for playing minutes.

A Marshall University standout, Lutz is set to join the team after playing out his final varsity year in the Division I of the US NCAA next summer.

Toroman, however, refused to admit that Salinas and Schemechtig will not be hired, but said they do not offer anything spectacular compared to other Gilas standouts or other prospects like Lutz, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Marco Fajardo and Paul Lee.

SBP will make a decision in the next few days.

"Maybe in the next seven to 10 days," said Toroman, the Serbian mentor who steered Iran to a rare Olympic appearance in the 2008 Beijing Games. "They play the same position with a lot of players on the team, that’s why we’re having a difficult time deciding."

Smart Gilas faced Powerade Team Pilipinas last night in a charity game at the Araneta Coliseum. Salinas and Schemechtig, however, were not around to impress Toroman and other SBP executives.

SBP executive director Noli Eala refused to comment, saying the final decision still depends on Toroman.

In Gilas’ previous game against the Slingers — the only official game where the Fil-Australian duo saw action — Salinas and Schemechtig were way below expectation despite what Eala claimed to be a "decent performance" from the tandem.

Salinas logged only two points while Schemechtig went scoreless in few forgettable minutes.

"In (the) last game against Singapore, they didn’t play good and one of them has an injury problem and he couldn’t perform well," Toroman said.

"If these two players are better than our players, we will invite them back. If they play on the same level like Rey Guevarra, or Jazul, that will be a reason to invite them back."

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We need the best of the best out there. Being fil-australian does not automatically make them better than our local guys.

Maybe someday, they can still rejoin the team if they prove themselves worthy. I wouldn't be counting them out.