THE committee tasked to select the next head coach of the men’s national basketball team—Gilas Pilipinas—has reduced its choices from an original list of six aspirants to only two.
But the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has kept a lid on the identities of the two aspirants who will take over from Chot Reyes the tough task of qualifying the country to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
“The committee agreed that it will not divulge the names of the six and the two. You will know the two in time,” the SBP said in a statement released to media. The committee headed by SBP Chairman Ricky Vargas met on Wednesday at the federation office at the PhilSports in Pasig City.
The SBP statement explained that the committee has focused on two major criteria that revolved around being a “must” and “preferable.”
The “must” refers to the candidates’ extensive experience and exposure in international basketball, leadership and maturity, as well as being a winner and possessing good coaching record and capable to attend to team full time.
The “preferable” traits stress that the candidate must know the Gilas program, able to proactively interact with his different public and has a positive relations with media and the basketball community—local and international, fans and the public.
American-New Zealander Tab Baldwin is reportedly being considered for the job based on the criteria set by the committee. Baldwin steered New Zealand to a fourth-place finish in the 2002 International Basketball Federation World Championship. He is currently a consultant for Talk ‘N Text in the Philippine Basketball Association.
The other names that were floated were Tim Cone, Jong Uichico, Norman Black, Robert Jaworski and Yeng Guiao. All coaches have international experience but only Jaworski could act full-time as the rest have teams in the PBA.
The committee will interview the two candidates next week before making a recommendation. The next coach will be named before the holidays.
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si Tab Baldwin na yan, pinapatagal pa kasi eh