Gilas Pilipinas bosses, led by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan, have always aimed for the national team to get as much exposure as possible to help spur its growth.
Program director and head coach Tab Baldwin understands where the top brass is coming from. And he, too, wants the same.
“When MVP speaks, we all perk up both ears and make sure we absorb exactly what he says,” he told Radyo5’s Power and Play, Saturday.
“The essence of what the boss is saying is we need games. And he’s absolutely right.”
The bemedaled mentor, though, is also aware that there are various factors to consider in getting those games for the Filipino dribblers — mainly budget — especially since he prefers to take part in pocket tournaments overseas.
That is actually something that Gilas has done times in the past. For instance, in the last two editions of the FIBA World Cup, the Filipino dribblers participated in mini tilts as part of their gear-up for basketball’s grandest showpiece.
The Nationals planned to do the same earlier this year. They would have gone Australia to play tune-ups in preparation for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ third window. They had to shelve those plans, though, due to travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic.
“How we go back getting those games; what games are available; what budgets exist for us to access those games,” enumerated Baldwin.
“Because to be perfectly honest, if we could go play in pocket tournaments in Serbia, in Germany, in France, in Estonia, and Argentina, they would be better prepared,” added the American-Kiwi coach.
“As long as they’re consistently available and we could have budget to go those, that would be preferable.”
That, for Baldwin, is really ideal for the program. But it isn’t lost on him that it is hard to accomplish. So the next best thing is to simply make do what they have. And one of the options they have is playing in the PBA.
Previous national teams have seen action in Asia’s first pro league. The current Gilas crew — bannered by top amateurs and PBA special draftees — could be next as the league opened its doors for them.
Last February, Commissioner Willie Marcial said that they are inviting Gilas to play as a guest team. And nothing has changed since then, as the league chief brought that up again now that the PBA is set to return next week.
Baldwin, himself a champion coach in the New Zealand NBL and once a consultant for TNT, is open to the idea.
“That’s the ideal world, and sometimes, all of a sudden, we don’t live in the ideal world. We live in our own world.
“And we have to make the best with it. And the PBA is certainly, you know, a potential possibility for us,” he closed.
