Lazada Philippines

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Tab Baldwin Hits The Ground Running in The Philippines

MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia On My Mind) - Barely a few months into his new work as head coach of the Gilas Pilipinas program in the Philippines, former New Zealand tactician Tab Baldwin has hit the ground running. He has not wasted any time in preparing the country’s national teams for what is one of the busiest basketball calendars in recent memory.

Just take a look at the list of tournaments Gilas Pilipinas and its youth counterpart, Batang Gilas, will have to go through this year:

April
-    Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) U16 Championship (qualifier for the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship) in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
-    SEABA Championship (qualifier for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship) in Singapore

June
-    Southeast Asian Games in Singapore

July
-    2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Bangalore, India

August
-    37th William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei

September
-    2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China (qualifier for the 2016 Olympics)

In preparing for this gauntlet of tournaments, coach Tab’s mindset appears to revolve around gathering the very best of Philippine basketball at all levels and ensuring that they are properly trained for their respective objectives.

Right now, there are three teams in varying processes of selection and try-outs:

The Batang Gilas (youth) team that will participate in all U16 tournaments.
The Sinag Pilipinas (cadets) team that will participate in the SEABA Championships and SEA Games.
The Gilas Pilipinas (seniors) team that will participate in the Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Championship.

The most immediate competitions, of course, are those at the SEABA and SEA Games level. With respect to these, coach Tab has tasked a slew of assistant coaches to focus on hands-on preparation and training. Former collegiate player Michael Oliver has been assigned to take the reigns of the U16 squad, while coach Tab whips the Sinag boys into shape.

As of this writing, the final 16 for both Sinag Pilipinas and Batang Gilas have been named, with both teams having a good mix of size, speed, and athleticism.

As can be expected, the Batang Gilas team will have good size compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, but if they do manage to qualify to the FIBA Asia level, then they will give up a lot of inches to traditional youth powers like China, Korea and Iran. With the tallest teener at around 195cm (6ft 5in) - and that’s being generous - the Batang Gilas boys will be hard-pressed to match up with much bigger frontlines. One possible remedy to this is a foreign-based Filipino named AJ Edu, who has a Filipino mother and who already possesses a Philippine passport. At just 15 years of age and already 200cm (6ft 7in), Edu’s addition (perhaps at the FIBA Asia level already as he is still playing and going to school in Ireland) should be a big boost to the Philippine cause.

Their older counterparts in Sinag Pilipinas, meanwhile, are currently being primed to dominate the SEABA and SEA Games tourneys. With the emergence of Singapore and the constant unpredictablity of Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, the Philippines cannot afford to relax and take their opponents lightly. In view of this, coach Tab has selected nothing short of the best talents outside of the pros. Guys like Kiefer Ravena, Ray Parks, Mac Belo, Baser Amer, and Arnold Van Opstal are expected to banner this crack team of collegiate-level stars, and they would benefit from doing well, too, as some of them are headed to the PBA either this year or next year. Surely, doing well while donning the country’s tri-colors will only serve to boost their stock.



As for the Gilas Pilipinas quintet, coach Tab has to do a bit more political maneuvering, since the PBA is quite notorious for having fiercely competitive factions. So bitter has the corproate rivalries been in the league that is has become commonplace to hear whispers of some teams being unwilling to lend their players to the national side. If, by some minor miracle, coach Tab can circumvent this particular hurdle and manage to, indeed, gather all the players on his wishlist (and maybe even secure eligibility for Fil-American NBA player Jordan Clarkson), then Gilas Pilipinas should be a strong title favorite this year. He has already made steps toward this direction, taking intiative to talk to several top-tier PBA players who were not included, for one reason or another,
in previous Gilas iterations.

The gauntlet of jousts awaiting these Filipino teams is certainly daunting, but, armed with a vast knowledge of international basketball and invaluable experience in leading unheralded teams to new heights,  coach Tab Baldwin may just be able to fulfil his vision of greatness for Philippine hoops.

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