LET me preface this by saying that, whoever is appointed as national team head coach, whatever they wish to do, we will support. As if we will not.
Having gotten that out of the way and since there are still articles or columns put out on the change in Gilas head coaches, let me offer some thoughts.
One, why is the chairman emeritus doing the talking? Shouldn’t it be the president Al Panlilio or the Executive Director Sonny Barrios explaining what happened?
The narrative is only coming from one side including unnamed sources.
Second, it is said that there is no team.
Who isn’t here? Kai Sotto? Wasn’t he already abroad prior to the last qualifiers? Yes, he came back for it, but Kai’s dream has always been to play abroad. Playing in Australia is a path to the National Basketball Association. Besides, he will be released for official national team duty.
Dwight Ramos released as well? Isn’t Justine Baltazar back in La Salle?
Didn’t some of the players only sign with their Philippine Basketball Association clubs after the news broke out?
And what is the fuss? The Philippines is already in even if we bombed out of the qualifiers because we are the host nation.
Am not suggesting we lose. I think now is the time to tryout other players. Prepare them for tomorrow.
It doesn’t make sense for the coach of a national team to step down unless he knows very well that his time is done.
And these games…well it’s a short window. The World Cup is next year. There is a lot of time to whip a team into shape in time for next year.
If that young team of collegiate and recent grads is to play in the World Cup next year…what do you think of their chances of getting past the group stages or even winning?
That is a very young team going up against the best of the world. They will fight for sure. Maybe they won’t advance, but maybe they will turn a lot of heads. How long before they succumb to the seasoned professionals?
Then again, it is certainly possible they can do it. After all, that old Yugoslavian team of Toni Kukoc, Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic and company pulled it off with most players in their early 20s. That team though had incredible talent and size.
The nationals surprised a lot of people with their play in the qualifiers.
Still… you do not want to flame out in the group stage after millions of pesos will be spent on these games. You want to put your best foot forward.
Next year is an occasion to showcase your very best. Not just for the entire country because this is a major sporting event. The very best players are in the pro league. Now, if they aren’t playing, it will be a huge opportunity missed. This is also telling the other Asian leagues they might have gotten some of the young stars but the best players remain the PBA.
Imagine if they are upstaged by the young team (as if they weren’t already during the qualifiers) in the World Cup.
Besides, there will be scouts from the NBA and other leagues watching. Imagine if a Filipino player shines alongside the world’s stars. It will mean interest from the top leagues and that will extend not only to other players but possibly, coaches.
Me? I find nothing wrong with the PBA stars playing. In fact, they should. And with everything that has happened, they will slowly be inserted into the team.
I just wish all parties would commit once and for all to a long term program.
What is the Gilas program anyway? It used to be a youth program but instead, it has been a patchwork team that may or may not be their fault.
Many other foreign teams encounter the same concerns as well. It is just the weird dynamics between professional clubs all over the world and national teams. One just needs to find the happy middle ground.
Did we?
Let’s hope for the best is all I can say.