Here's pair of disappointing developments concerning the preparation of SMART-Gilas National Team. One, Dondon Hontiveros will no longer be part of the team. The recent Jones Cup tourney turned out to be the last time he'll be in a SMART-Gilas jersey.Reasons for his leaving are inconclusive but some are pointing it to a bad "tongue-lashing" from Coach Rajko Toroman at one time during the Jones Cup although I would rather believe the other reason: that he's been a victim of wear and tear; the 9-day straight schedule of the Jones Cup took a toll on his 34 year old body.
I don't think Hontiveros would quit and ditch another opportunity to represent the country just because a coach had nearly blown his head off with some words. Being a professional that he is, I'm sure he's had those kind of experiences before and fully knows it's part of the job. The "scolding" were perhaps a result of several ill-taken shots that Hontiveros put up during the Jones Cup games.
The other development is the pull-out of SMART-Gilas from the Qatar Invitationals Tourney. The lack of players due to injuries and the small lead time for the loaned Talk and Text players to rest before the tourney were cited as reasons to the non-participation.
These news are troubling given that it happened just a few weeks before the Wuhan Olympic qualifiers. Those PBA reinforcement should have jelled well already with the team by now. We can only hope that these news would not cause disorientation once players are all on the floor playing crucial games during the tournament.
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