Amid the inclement weather the country experienced last weekend, Coach Tab Baldwin’s Chooks-to-Go World Hoops Clinic 3.0 still pushed through.
And it was still a rousing success, according to the former Gilas Pilipinas head coach.
“Extremely happy with the turnout. I mean, I think maybe it cost us 30- to 40-percent. So to still have numbers in excess of 150 is very, very pleasing,” expressed Baldwin. “And you know, it’s like injuries, you can’t do anything about it. You just have to live with them and do the best you can.
“I’m really proud of the coaches that braved the weather and, you know, showed how passionate they are about learning the game and, and… You know, fought through the elements and came because it was terrible. There was flooding all around the arena,” he continued about the event that began last Friday and ended on Sunday. “And we had guys miss day one because they couldn’t travel into Manila, and they still came for day two.
“So you know, I think it was a huge effort on everybody’s part.”
The speakers in this three-day event were European coaches Nenad Trunic (Methodology of teaching defensive rotations), Damir Milacic (Decision-making skills of lead guards), and Janez Drvaric (Transitioning from defense to offense). Also serving as speakers were TNT consultant Mark Dickel (Building pressure man to man defense through individual fundamentals) and Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren (Fundamentals of building zone presses and how to attack them).
“Well, our theme this year was player development primarily, but it wasn’t exclusive to that,” shared Baldwin. “But primarily, we wanted our coaches to understand the theme that coaches exist in that philosophy for the betterment of their players and to help their players realize their dreams and ambitions.
“So we had to teach coaches the fundamentals of the game and the fundamental approaches to teaching the game that is going to help the players. It wasn’t about creating winning teams as much as it was about creating successful basketball players.”
Some of the coaches that attended the clinic were Alaska Aces’ Alex Compton, Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters’ Louie Alas, Lyceum Pirates’ Topex Robinson, UE Red Warriors’ Joe Silva, Adamson Lady Falcons’ Ewon Arayi, and Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3’s Anton Altamirano.
“I’m truly grateful to Coach Tab for committing to improve Philippine basketball by bringing in champion coaches to help us improve,” expressed Robinson.
“It was more than just the Xs and Os. The point of the clinic was how we could teach the players to think,” said Altamirano.
“Actually marami akong natutunan hindi lang isa o dalawang lesson. Learning never stops talaga. Tinanong nga namin si Coach Janez about what keeps him going at the age of 70. Ang sagot niya ay once na magsimula ka, hindi mo na namamalayan yung oras dahil you are enjoying what you are doing,” recalled Arayi.
With this, Baldwin now looks forward to making next year’s World Hoops Clinic bigger and better. “We set the bar pretty high this year. So, you know, the job is now mine, to convince some coaches to come over here and talk to our local coaches.
“We want to continue with the theme that we have, continue to grow our brand; and spread awareness among Filipino coaches, that it’s a good place to come and learn something a little bit different about how the game is played and coached from, what I think, is the part of the world that really houses the intellect of the game, and that is Europe.”
The event is backed by Chooks-to-Go, SMART, Meralco, PayMaya, Unilab, Mighty Sports, Under Armour, Triple Threat Basketball, and Gatorade.
