WHAT has Tab Baldwin done to deserve the coveted post as Gilas coach?
Nothing, except that he made Ateneo the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champion for three consecutive years.
Norman Black did better by giving Ateneo five straight UAAP titles a while back. But he’s still stuck coaching at the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Presently, Black’s doing well mentoring Meralco, his Bolts beating all their first four opponents for a tournament-leading 4-0 card in the ongoing Governors Cup.
How did Baldwin fare again in his PBA coaching shift some time ago? So so.
And, yes, not only was Baldwin given the Gilas coaching job. He was also tasked with drafting the nation’s basketball program.
Why the unbridled fascination to pin so much trust on Baldwin, an American in case you’ve forgotten? Colonial mentality at work once again?
But that was before.
Today, Baldwin is out as Gilas coach. And he’s also out as program director of the national basketball strategy.
He was not fired. He resigned. He said he’d focus on Ateneo’s drive to win a fourth UAAP crown this year.
He didn’t say it but all indications point to a decimated Gilas lineup as the major reason for his decision to leave Gilas.
Can we blame Baldwin for refusing to coach an undermanned team that is deemed anyway to absorb debacles in its forthcoming battles against New Zealand and South Korea, among others?
This came about following the exodus to Japan of some of Gilas’s stars, although Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos have come back to play for the national colors in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifying that begins on February 24 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Together with the 6-foot-9 recently naturalized Filipino Ange Kouame and select TNT players, Ravena and Ramos can look forward to a well-meaning performance under Chot Reyes, who will be in his fourth stint as national coach. Chot made his biggest splash when he steered Gilas to a smashing second-place finish in the 2013 Fiba Asia Cup behind Iran, a feat that sent the Nationals to the 2014 Worlds in Seville, Spain.
Yes, Baldwin balked. But with Chot manning the fort, the flag is in good hands.
THAT’S IT EJ Obiena wins again, this time in Poland, underscoring once more the fact that he’s a world-class pole vaulter and, therefore, deserves all the support that the government can muster to nurture his career. And, yes, his latest feat is proof yet again that athletes win medals for the country—never our leaders, including the pseudo, if not downright bogus, officials.