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Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) program director Tab Baldwin hopes to have a broader pool of players that could include PBA stars by the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asian Cup qualifiers in February.
Backing up comments made by SBP president Al Panlilio on Tuesday, Baldwin said that the fact that the PBA has a later start date for the 2021 season could mean that some of the mainstays of the league’s national team could give Gilas Pilipinas a little boost in the next window.
“I think we’ve already seen boss Al’s comments in the media that we will probably look to get the PBA players back into the mix. Those were his comments and I support him,” he said at the Trainers without filter podcast on Thursday. “I think with the PBA planning for a later start date in 2021, there may be no restrictions on what we can do with the PBA players.”
Having players from the PBA could certainly provide a huge boost for a Gilas team facing South Korea and Indonesia after lining up an all-amateur lineup against Thailand in the Bahrain bubble last November.
Baldwin, however, acknowledged that it still depends on how the talks between SBP and the PBA play out, as well as the varsity teams that could start training with their stars early next year, in the coming months.
“Until all the bosses sit down and discuss all of that, we don’t know,” he said. “Obviously, we have to talk to all of our partners who are involved in the basketball landscape: my good friends from the PBA, SBP, our bosses. And all the varsity teams as well, we don’t know where the university is the programs will be available early January, so there’s a lot to do. “
For now, Baldwin said everyone will be considered in the third window. That includes the 14 men who played in Bahrain and Angelo Kouame, who took another step toward naturalization after his appeal was approved by the House Justice Committee on Wednesday.
“We certainly hope to have access to the same group of players, and if we can extend that to other players, including the possibility of Ange Kouame getting his naturalization, we still don’t know if that will be completed by then.” but that would be great too, and if all of that could happen, I think we can do a few different things to move forward into the February window, “Baldwin said.
Baldwin wants Uichico, the rest of the staff to ‘stay involved’
Nor has a decision been made on whether Gilas will retain interim head coach Jong Uichico and the rest of the coaching staff for the next window.
Baldwin, however, wants them to stay.
“We have no answers for that at the moment, although I was so satisfied with the coaching staff that I will ask that they continue to participate,” he said. “Whether we expand that group or not, I hope so because I think there is room for more experience.”
Uichico made the decisions for the young Gilas team against Thailand and was backed by Baldwin, San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez, and TNT Tropang Giga assistant coach Alton Lister.
Baldwin only praised Uichico, whom he described as a “very, very good coach” and “probably one of the easiest guys you’d like to work with.”
“I was talking to Coach Mark (Dickel) while I was in Bahrain, and he doesn’t know Coach Jong very well. They have met, of course, and have had some conversations. But Coach Mark said to me,” Jong must be the most laid back coach I’ve ever seen on the sidelines. “And I was like, ‘Yeah,'” shared Baldwin. “Coach Jong is very experienced and he behaves in a relaxed manner. It is very easy for the players to work with him.”
While Baldwin admitted that he often stepped in to give his opinion with the nine-time PBA champion coach at the helm, mentor Kiwi said this didn’t really cause any problems between him and Uichico.
“Yeah, I’m not the easiest guy to work with, and I’m a bit of a bully to a lot of people. So, you know, I stuck my nose in sometimes, but Coach Jong and I discussed it all. And I was aware of that I was going to inject myself, you know, “he said.
“And so, everything went according to plan and I hope it never seemed that we were not in unison because we had constant meetings, we were very clear about how it would work.”
