Gilas Pilipinas was all set for a busy stretch within the remaining months of 2021, but that changed following the postponement of two major tourneys.
The 2021 FIBA Asia Cup was originally scheduled on August 16-28 in Jakarta, but the International Basketball Federation decided to play it in July of next year instead mainly due to the circumstances brought about by the pandemic.
Also deferred to another date is the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, still because of the prevailing global health crisis. The exact dates for the biennial meet, though, has yet to be determined by Vietnam’s organizing committee.
With all the postponements. national team head coach and program director Tab Baldwin was asked if it is bad for the team. His response?
“Yes and no,” offered the decorated mentor in Radyo5’s Power and Play, hosted by former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala, Saturday.
While tournaments being called off would give the team even more time to prepare, games, at the end of the day, are of utmost importance for a program whose focus is to develop players as much as it can, said Baldwin.
“I mean, more time to prepare for us is not a bad thing, we need practice more than we need games. But we need games as well,” said the bemedaled bench tactician. “And we need to keep these players motivated.”
The only cage meet Gilas will participate in this year is the opening window of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers in November. But Baldwin and his wards are also looking forward to a stacked 2022 ahead.
Aside from the World Cup Qualifiers and the postponed Asia Cup and SEA Games, the Filipino dribblers are also set to compete in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China on September 10-25.
That is almost a year-round of basketball. And Baldwin gladly takes it, since it is of great help in their preparation for the World Cup proper.
“So we have a very full schedule, which is exciting. But it also means that we’ve got a lot of work to do to get prepared for that.
“But it’s a great way to head into 2023, which is the World Cup year. We’re gonna get a lot of information, a lot of preparation, and it’s exactly what we need. We’re looking forward to it,” Baldwin added.
Still, the American-Kiwi mentor said that he and the national team’s top brass are set to convene to map out the plans for this year, with the aim of bringing the team back on the court to carry on their preparations.
“We’re moving towards … a meeting with management where we will try to lay out the plan for the rest of 2021 and into 2022,” he said. “And yes, we need to get back on the court. We can’t let the games that we’ve made get rusty.
“So I suspect the players will get a couple of more weeks off, and we will see at that time what are the protocols — will we be able to get into a gym and go home at night and train that way like the normal, or will we have to go back into a bubble? We don’t exactly know. But we can’t take that much time off because this is a program, and a program needs functionality,” the 63-year-old continued.
“And this is a development program, and you don’t develop sitting at home playing your PS4. That just doesn’t happen. We will be talking about this.”
