Gilas tries to tap Spurs' secret 'shooting' weapon

MANILA, Philippines – It’s no secret that the San Antonio Spurs are shooting the lights out in the NBA Finals. But not too many know that one of the reasons why the Spurs are red-hot against the Miami Heat is because of their shooting coach, who once played for the Philippine national team.

Spurs assistant coach Chip Engelland is considered to be the best shooting coach in the league right now according to former Phoenix Suns coach and now Memphis Grizzlies head coach prospect Alvin Gentry as quoted by the Los Angeles Times last week.  

Arthur “Chip” Engelland was one of the Philippines’ three naturalized imports – the two other being Jeff Moore and Dennis Still – back in 80’s under the banner of Northern Consolidated, which was bankrolled by San Miguel Corporation top honcho and known sports patron Danding Cojuangco.

Chip Engelland (seated second from left) with the whole Northern Consolidated team that included Allan Caidic (standing third from right). Photo courtesy of forums.interbasket.net

Engelland, who was known to Filipino fans as the “Machine Gun” for his shooting prowess, helped the country win the ABC club championship and Jones Cup in 1985, and took a young Allan Caidic under his wings.

Twenty years after that stint in the Philippines, he found himself recruited by undoubtedly today’s most successful small market franchise in the NBA.

With solid credentials that saw him serving as shooting consultant for the Detroit Pistons from 1999 to 2002 and as the Denver Nuggets’ director for player development soon after, Engelland took an assistant coaching job with the Spurs in the 2005-06 season.

He is credited for Tony Parker’s rise to become one of the elite shooters among point guards in the league. The Frenchman, after all, was Engelland’s first project since joining the Spurs.

Right now, the Spurs are one win away from the chip, which will be Chip’s second with the Spurs.

Because of Engelland’s past love affair with Philippine basketball, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes is hot on his tails in its quest to return to the World Basketball Championships.

But due to the demands of Engelland’s NBA gig with the Spurs, Chip could not squeeze in some time to take Gilas under his wings. 

“We’ve been trying for YEARS now. Skeds (schedules) just won’t match,” Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said on Monday in response to one of his Twitter followers who suggested to tap Engelland’s services.

With Engelland’s unavailability, Gilas may turn to Chip’s first ever project – The Triggerman –  who turned out to be the most prolific shooter in the history of Philippine basketball.