A huge man enters the interview room. People look up. They know he grabs 20 rebounds per game. They know he plays for Smart Gilas. Outside of basics, they know little else. The spark of a raging PBA debate is not too electric. I know he's neither charismatic nor flamboyant. Other PBA teams, however, know the only thing they need to know about him; Marcus Douthit is too damn tall. And Douthit is not too pleased.
"We don't sit here and cry that other teams have their imports," Douthit, moments before his team faces B-Meg Derby Ace, explains. "They're giving their imports the ball every play. As for me, I play within the offense. If Gilas went to me every single play, I would probably average 50 points. But the way we play is totally different from the PBA style. A lot of teams can't adjust to the way we play so they to need make excuses for why they lose to us."
An hour later, the 6-foot-10-inch "excuse" shoots a jump-hook, lands awkwardly and crumbles to the floor. Douthit sprains his left ankle. With still five minutes left in the third quarter, Gilas' towering edge is gone. His shoe is off. His foot is on ice. The most potent big man on the team is now its most helpless member.
Yet Gilas refuses to use an injured Douthit as a cop-out. Although B-Meg's Shamari Spears (26 points), Marc Pingris (19 rebounds) and Kerby Raymundo (12 rebounds) take full advantage of Douthit's absence, as well as Greg Slaughter's inexperience, the game never turns one-sided. It goes into overtime. Neither team succumbs to their own alibis. B-Meg plays an entire game without its biggest star: James Yap. Gilas competes in the last 23 minutes without its biggest man: Douthit. It takes a late push by B-Meg to win an excruciating test, 98-90.
After the final buzzer, Douthit drags his swollen ankle off the court. Even in pain, he remains an imposing figure. If he's classified as an import, he is too big for the PBA (height limit for imports is 6'4"). But as a naturalized Filipino center, he seems right for international play. That's how the debate starts. That's why the debate never ends.
"Gilas is not achieving anything," B-Meg Head Coach Jorge Gallent believes. "If they want Douthit to get better, dapat may katapat siya. Pero as of now, wala siyang katapat. For me, he's just going through the motion of playing here and not achieving what they want to achieve. It's unfair for us and not good for them."
One's edge is another's burden. Douthit is caught in the middle. If he plays better, Gilas performs better. If he grows stronger, the grumbling against him grows stronger too. He's busy justifying two things: inclusion in Gilas and inclusion in the PBA. It's proving to be a very tall order even for a very, very tall man.
Mico Halili, GMA News
