The on-going coronavirus pandemic has made long-term planning almost impossible, leaving the plans of today as just mere goals.
This is what the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is also experiencing as Gilas Pilipinas’ post-Calambubble plans have just become a fantasy.
Gilas program director Tab Baldwin had initially planned for his young team to head to Australia or New Zealand to compete against National Basketball League teams after they end their camp in Inspire Sports Academy on April 15. This was on top of the PBA’s offer to help out Gilas either by letting the national team compete as a guest team for the Philippine Cup or in a pocket tournament.
“We had planned to go down to Australia and New Zealand to get games there before the June window. That was before the PBA offered us to participate as a guest team for the entire conference,” said Baldwin during Saturday’s edition of Power & Play with Kume Noli Eala.
“Australia closed its borders that is why we had to go back to the PBA and ‘begging’ when can we get back in. And they were willing to help us again. Then reports say that the PBA gets delayed again.”
Europe is not an option for the SBP as well as the majority of the top basketball nations there have also closed their borders.
What about heading to the States?
“You can get in the States but who are you going to play in the States?” said Baldwin.
The reason for that rationale is that Gilas will not be able to get a chance to book NBA teams for tune-ups. The window to play against Division I schools is over by then as well.
Facing hastily-formed selections is what Baldwin wants to avoid as they are training for two big tournaments — the FIBA Asia Cup and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“One of my conditions is that we need to play real teams.
“We don’t want to play composite all-star teams that were prepared together at the last minute. That’s not going to prepare us to go up against a Korean team that is well-trained, a Dominican Republic team that is well-trained, a Serbian team that is very well-trained and plays like a team. If we play these all-star composite teams in the US, I think it’s going to be detrimental to our development,” he opined.
So now, Gilas is back to square one with its plans — to join the PBA.
“We just have to bite the bullet again and keep hoping and waiting for windows to open. The big one now is to find a calendar with the PBA and, hopefully, use games against them as development.”
