For the past two windows of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, Gilas Pilipinas and program director Tab Baldwin saw a rotating cast of coaches.
In the first window last February, Mark Dickel was the head coach. Joining him were Topex Robinson, Alex Compton, and Sandy Arespocachaga.
But Dickel, Robinson, and Arespacochaga were all in the PBA bubble during the Cadets’ prep for the second window.
With this, Baldwin and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas put together a whole new team. SBP named Jong Uichico as head coach, while tapping Boyet Fernandez, Alton Lister, Sandro Soriano, and Andrei Tolentino as assistants.
And for the seasoned internalist, it was a pleasure to work side-by-side with the two-time PBA Coach of the Year.
“Jong is a good friend, he’s a very very good coach, and probably one of the easiest guys that you’d ever want to work with. Fortunately, the games became lopsided,” Baldwin shared on Coaches Unfiltered, powered by SMART Sports.
“So I was talking to Coach Mark when I was over in Bahrain, and he doesn’t know Coach Jong very well. They met and they had a few conversations, but Coach Mark said to me, ‘Coach Jong must be the most chill coach I’ve ever seen on the sidelines in my life.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah!’
“But we had pretty big lead and in fact, he is. Coach Jong has so much experience and he has a relaxed demeanor. He’s very easy for the players to work with,” he continued.
Baldwin has already accepted the fact that he is hard to work with. His partnership with Uichico then created a balance in both Inspire Sports Academy and in Manama, Bahrain.
A yin to his yang.
“I’m not the easiest guy to work with, and I’m a bit of a bully for a lot of people, so I stuck my nose in sometimes.
“But Coach Jong, we discuss everything, and he was aware that I was going to inject myself. So everything was sort of according to plan. And I hope it never looked like we worked in unison with one another because our meetings… We had constant meetings, [and] it was all very clear to us how it would work,” Baldwin gushed.
For Uichico, he is just glad to be coaching the national team once again.
Uichico, who is also the head of the SBP’s Coaching Academy, was part of Tim Cone’s staff during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The last time he was head coach of the national team in an international competition was the 2017 edition of the regional meet.
“It’s been a long time talaga, and I was very excited, I was looking forward really. Actually, hindi naman talaga ako. I was named only head coach days prior to leaving. Hindi pa namin alam talaga kung sino ‘yung maghe-head coach. But we still went through the process. When I was named head coach, siyempre excited kaagad ako. Unang-una, excited ako nakakapagturo ulit ako ng player kasi for the past few years, nakapagturo ako ng coaches,” said the 58-year-old Uichico during 2OT.
“I thank Boss Manny Pangilinan, Sir Al Panlilio, Sir Ricky Vargas, ED Sonny Barrios, Butch Antonio, and, of course, Coach Ryan Gregorio for giving me this opportunity. Alam mo naman ang Gilas, mahal sa puso ko ‘yan eh.”
Interim or not, Baldwin wants everyone from the team that created magic in Bahrain to be back not just in February, but beyond.
“We don’t have answers to that right now, although I was so pleased with the coaching staff that I will be petitioning that they continue to be involved whether we expand that group or not,” Baldwin shared when asked about whether Uichico is an interim head coach or not.
“I hope so, because I think there’s room for more expertise.”
