Jalalon embraces role as Gilas's creator

MANILA (SEABA Championship 2017) - At just 1.73m, Jio Jalalon is the smallest guy on the Philippines roster, but the game he has shown is much bigger than his size.

Jalalon has been nothing less than ultra reliable for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes. The native of Cagayn de Oro City in the southern part of the Philippines currently leads the entire SEABA Championship 2017 in assists, averaging 6.0 dimes per game and helping Gilas's offense become the competition's most fluid.

This is a role that Jalalon not necessarily has been pressed into, but something he has embraced all on his own, recognizing the spectrum of talent surrounding him on the national team.

"I just know my role here on the team," he said. "All my teammates are very good at scoring, so I took it upon myself to be the creator."

The result? The Filipinos have been pretty much untouchable so far, beating opponents by an average of 69.7 points per game. They were merciless against Myanmar and ultra efficient against both Singapore and Malaysia. Potential challengers Thailand and Indonesia are coming up to bat soon, but with Jalalon playing this well, the home team should still have a big edge.

"As long as we continue training hard and we prepare for Thailand and Indonesia, we should be fine."Jio JalalonJio Jalalon

One of the things that makes Jio's playmaking so important for Gilas is how his passing game enables his teammates to shine. A standout example was when made a drop pass to Japeth Aguilar for an emphatic slam dunk in their win over Malaysia.

Jalalon believes its this kind of team chemistry that has been the most crucial factor in their three-game winning run, and he feels very good about their chances of continuing to dominate the competition all the way to the end.

"The key is how hard we practice, especially focusing on out chemistry," he explained. "That's why we have gotten good results so far, and we are hoping our good play continues."

FIBA