Re: 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain
imposibleng tanggihan ni Slaughter yan,
First Greg, now Marcio: San Miguel’s Lassiter also declines invite to join Gilas Pilipinas pool
Rey Joble, InterAksyon.com
It looks like San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter won’t be joining the Philippine national men’s basketball team’s pool either.
After Barangay Ginebra San Miguel rookie center Greg Slaughter announced that he wouldn’t be joining the Gilas Pilipinas pool, Lassiter also passed on the opportunity to become part of the Philippine contingent bound for the FIBA World Cup in Spain this August.
“Today I would like to inform everyone about my situation with Gilas. For me, it wouldn’t feel right for me to take away from the players who deserved to be there, the 12 guys who played before. They rightfully deserve it,” Lassiter said during the press conference.
“I’ve experienced this being a part of Gilas 1,” he added.
According to Lassiter, it would only be fitting for the original members, the ones who helped the team qualify for the World Cup in the FIBA Asia Championships, to continue the task in the coming event in Spain.
“I felt they have unfinished business to handle. If I will be in the same position as them, for someone to come in trying to take my spot, it would be hard for me to give up something I rightfully deserve. That’s the reason why I’m withdrawing my name from the national pool,” added Lassiter.
A member of the original SMART-Gilas team formed in 2009, Lassiter clarified that it was his personal decision.
“But this wasn’t a management decision. This was totally personal,” he added.
“I want to say it on the record, San Miguel does not have any decision on this.”
Slaughter, earlier, announced that he will not be joining the pool, opting to forego his inclusion in the pool and not take away any of the 12 spots from the regular roster.
Lassiter explained that he and Slaughter also talked about it, but the decision wasn’t collective.
“We talked, but this is more from our own personal reasons,” Lassiter said. “I’m pretty sure Greg has his own reasons.”
Health a big factor
In his young career, Lassiter had experienced various injuries, including the one that nearly sidelined him the rest of the season – a back injury – in his second year in the PBA.
Lassiter said his health has something to do with his decision to withdraw from the pool.
“A part of it,” he said. “In my second year, when I had a fall, it pretty much messed up my back. It’s pretty damaging. At that time I really wanted to take some time off, but I saw our situation and wanted to be there for my team.”
“By the second conference I should have taken the whole conference off to make sure it healed, but played through it. It was my decision to being there with my guys. It’s been a lingering, ongoing process for me from time to time. It really takes some time to fully recover, to be 100 percent,” he added.
“If I know for sure if I’m not 100 percent I don’t want to jeopardize the Gilas team for one man not playing 100 percent, so that’s also an issue for me.”
isa pang player ng SMC nag decline. nagdadamot na talaga ang SMC. whos next? japet aguilar and junmar fajardo?