Guiao: Tiongson Could Be Multi-functional Player for Gilas
To some, Caelan Tiongson is one of those players who entered the PBA late in his career.
He was already 32 by the time he joined the PBA two years ago and now at 34 is playing in his second season in the PBA, many still believe that the 6-foot-5 multi-dimensional player could be an asset to any team playing on a bigger stage.
And that includes Gilas Pilipinas.
On the heels of their 129-111 setback at the hands of Barangay Ginebra, Rain or Shine’s first game after a break of more than a month after the PBA gave way to Gilas Pilipinas’ preparations for the previous window event of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers held at the Mall of Asia Arena and the recent Asian Games campaign in Japan, Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao summarized the reasons why Tiongson is essential to the national team.
“First, he’s a multi-functional player. You can choose on how to play him. Either you want him to play the guard spots or you want to play him on the wing positions or as a big man, Caelan is capable of playing all of them,” Guiao told All-Star Magazine.
Tiongson was envisioned by Guiao as someone ready to fill in the huge void vacated by franchise legend Gabe Norwood, one of the league’s best all-around players, who played his entire PBA career for only one team – Rain or Shine.
The next Gabe Norwood
Like Tiongson, Norwood was multi-faceted and Guiao described him like a Swiss Army knife where every piece included in one bundle has a specific purpose.
Norwood and Tiongson played together for more than a year until the former retired at the end of last year.
A former star of George Mason University that entered the Final Four in the NCAA in 2006, Norwood had represented the national team many times before, beginning in 2007 in the Tokushima FIBA Asia Championship, and playing for the Philippine squad ahead of joining the PBA Rookie Draft.
In the PBA, Norwood wasn’t the guy who filled up the scoring sheet, yet his impact was visibly seen on different areas of the game, including defense. He was a member of the All-Defensive Team seven times in his career.
Tiongson, according to Guiao, had those similar qualities of a Norwood.
“Aside from being a multi-functional player, Caelan is also a solid, two-way player, and that is essential to any team, more importantly with Gilas when we face and play bigger players in major international competitions,” added Guiao.
Tiongson was among those considered to play for the PBA-backed national team that surprisingly got an early boot in the recent men’s basketball competition of the Asian Games.
The Philippines entered the tournament as the defending champion and much was expected of our Pinoy cagers, who brought an entirely different squad without our overseas Filipino players who play in Japan and Korea, like Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo among others.
Even worse was the fact that the Philippines played without any of its naturalized players as Justin Brownlee, our main reinforcement, was sidelined by a heart ailment and high blood pressure, which was confirmed only recently by head coach Tim Cone during the Senate hearing.
The other naturalized options, like Bennie Boatwright, Ange Kouame, Malick Diouf and NBA star Jordan Clarkson, were also unavailable.
Why Tiongson missed the Asian Games
Tiongson’s documentation papers were not enough to make him eligible to play for Gilas in the Asian Games.
“Caelan is a dual citizen and he’s been using his US passport ever since because mas marami siyang benefits in using it. Pero alam natin na Filipino siya, kasi nga may Bureau of Immigration certification siya,” added Guiao. “But definitely, in the future, if he can be convinced to secure his Philippine passport if ever they include him to play, then he’ll be a big help for our national squad.”
Tiongson, however, doesn’t have many more chances left and Gilas Pilipinas and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will have to act quickly – if they want to give him a shot at making it to the roster.
