With the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers resuming next month, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) does not have the luxury of time to prepare for the upcoming window.
With this, special assistant to the SBP President Ryan Gregorio revealed the three-step formula they created to address the needs of Gilas Pilipinas, in an episode of Sports Page on Tuesday .
Firstly, Tab Baldwin will continue to act as the national team’s program director until the World Cup in 2023, which the country will co-host with Indonesia and Japan.
Gregorio also added that having the right mix of the coaching staff will be key.
“For as long as Coach Tab knows exactly his direction, we will follow his lead,” said the veteran head coach turned SBP appointee.
Secondly, the availability of players takes high priority. The November window will coincide with the PBA bubble, a “rich harvest” of cagers for Gilas.
But luckily for the national team, it already has six players ready to go in PBA special draftees Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, and Nieto twins Mike and Matt, alongside Jaydee Tungcab.
Thirdy Ravena is also in consideration, but is not yet sure due to his commitment to San-en NeoPhoenix in the Japanese B.League.
With the problem, Baldwin has erased the idea of having PBA players on the November lineup. Instead, he is looking internationally, or locally, at the collegiate ranks.
“At this point, we certainly are ruling out the inclusion of PBA players and coaches,” said the Gilas program director.
“That means we have to either look at players overseas, which again are gonna be difficult because they have schedules going on right now, or look to our college ranks, which is probably the most likely.”
The third step in the formula involves gaining the nod from Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to resume practice.
That, according to Gregorio, is the biggest issue the team faces. They will have to prepare for the next window in a short amount of time.
“Players are ready to play, but are we allowed to play as a team? That is the question that we are waiting for an answer up to this point.”
