MANILA, Philippines – The 17-man Gilas Pilipinas pool may be the tallest and the most talented team ever assembled in the history of Philippine basketball.
But national coach Tab Baldwin refused to get carried away by it as he begins the team’s preparation for the Olympic qualifying tournament for July 2016.
Two-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter are bannering the rejigged Gilas pool -- two big men who are expected to make it to the final 12 to form a formidable front court with naturalized player Andray Blatche.
However, Baldwin said the mere presence of the agile Fajardo and the long-armed Slaughter will surely affect the way Gilas will play, especially since country’s recent international campaigns saw the national squad put premium on speed and outside shooting.
“It’s nice to have them (Fajardo and Slaughter) there. But we have to see what the mix of the players look like,” said Baldwin, who began the Gilas pool’s once-a-week training last Monday night.
“We have to see that much further down the road because there are some question marks about how good we can be as a Philippine basketball team if we're slowed down by a lot of size, as opposed to how good we can be if we’re a real fast, real aggressive and real athletic team,” he added.
The American-Kiwi coach said the answers are bound to come in the next few months as Gilas increases its training sessions from just once-a-month to practically daily sessions come June when the PBA takes a break.
“Those questions are there and they will be answered in time,” he said. “And it’s up to June Mar and Greg to make sure they give us the benefit of their size without slowing us down,” stressed the veteran coach, who guided the New Zealand Tall Blacks to a semifinal finish in the 2001 FIBA World Cup in Indianapolis in the US.
As for Blatche, Baldwin believes the former Brooklyn Nets big man will be a lot better as he resumes playing for the Xinjian Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association.
“Andray is in China, playing in same team he played in last year so he should be over there working now with his team,” he said.
“Obviously he’ll get better, fitter and I hope he has great year in the CBA.”