Chot welcomes ‘fresh eye’ in camp

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio said the other day that national coach Chot Reyes is looking forward to learning from New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin who will offer a “fresh eye” at a five-day training camp in Napier, a seaport city about 320 kilometers northeast of Wellington.

The team leaves for New Zealand today on a 10-day trip that will be highlighted by the camp with Baldwin and at least five games, including a showdown with the Tall Blacks in Auckland on July 18. Baldwin, 55, is an American who began coaching in New Zealand in 1988. He piloted the Tall Blacks to the semifinals of the 2002 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis. Baldwin has also coached the Lebanese and Jordanian national squads. He has also coached clubs in Turkey, Greece and Romania.

Baldwin is expected to play a role similar to Kestutis Kemzura’s when Gilas set up camp in Lithuania last month. “We don’t really know to what extent Mr. Baldwin will help us but Chot is always open to fresh insights, fresh ideas which is why he invited Tim (Cone) and Rajko (Toroman) to practice,” said Antonio. “Mr. Baldwin will definitely be with us in camp so Chot is excited to exchange ideas with him particularly as he has experience coaching against Asian teams with Lebanon and Jordan.”

Antonio said the New Zealand trip will fill in the gaps left by Taiwan’s withdrawal of its invitation to participate in the Jones Cup. “Of course, we want more games to play, the better,” he said. “We would’ve played about eight games in the Jones Cup. If we do five or six in New Zealand then play a PBA selection on July 24 and a tune-up with Kazakhstan on July 26, we’ll be able to cover the missed games of the Jones Cup. What we’ll miss is the tournament-style games that the Jones Cup offers. It would’ve been a good training experience to defend our Jones Cup title but that’s water under the bridge. We’re moving on and with what we’ve got lined up, it should be enough to prepare us for the FIBA-Asia Championships under the circumstances.”

Antonio was with the Meralco team that recently played three games against a hybrid Japanese national team in Sendai and Tokyo. Japan didn’t play naturalized citizen J. R. Henderson and mixed veterans with cadet prospects. Antonio said Japan’s most impressive player was cat-quick 6-5 guard Ryota Sakurai, a national team mainstay since 2004. Meralco lost all three games to Japan, 86-67, 83-76, 88-61. The Bolts played with an 11-man lineup composed of MacMac Cardona, Reynel Hugnatan, Jay-R Reyes, Mark Borboran, Vic Manuel, Chris Timberlake and Carlo Sharma, import on-trial Chris Blake and Gilas cadet players Garvo Lanete, Kevin Alas and Jake Pascual. Unavailable for the trip were Don Allado, Paul Artadi, Chris Ross, Cliff Hodge, Rey Guevarra, Sunday Salvacion and Josh Vanlandingham.

Antonio said Gilas’ final 12-man roster for the FIBA-Asia Championships on Aug. 1-11 will be submitted to FIBA-Asia secretary-general Hagop Khajirian on or before the deadline of July 12. “Chot is still gauging who’ll make it,” said Antonio who mentioned that 13 players will join the New Zealand trip. “It’s Chot’s call. I understand he’ll make his decision the day before July 12. I really wouldn’t know whom he’ll pick. He’s the decider and I’m just the submitter.”

Antonio said Cone and Toroman had positive feedback on Gilas’ progress. “Tim told Chot he liked what he saw at practice, that it’s now up to the players to play, whether they give it their all or not,” said Antonio. “Both Tim and Rajko had a chance to talk to the players. Tim mentioned how important it is to represent the country, that it’s a different story from playing for their mother clubs because national pride is at stake.”

As for Toroman, Antonio said he warned that the opposition this year is tougher than in Wuhan two years ago. “It’s a hill to climb but Rajko felt the chemistry is working, it’s getting there,” said Antonio. “Rajko mentioned that this year’s Gilas team is different from past teams, it’s deeper, more talented and better prepared.”