No to revolving door policy
JAKARTA – It wasn’t as if Gilas head coach Chot Reyes didn’t know what to expect when the call came to invite him back to pilot the national team starting the combined first and second FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying windows last February. Less than eight players remained in the Gilas pool and several were on their way to the PBA draft.
Coach Tab Baldwin steered Gilas to a 6-0 record in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in 2020-21 then took the team to Belgrade for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament where it bowed to Serbia, 83-76 and the Dominican Republic, 94-67. With five weeks left before the start of the World Cup qualifying window last February, Baldwin said he wouldn’t coach Gilas to focus on his job at Ateneo. SBP president Al Panlilio, PBA chairman Ricky Vargas and SBP executive director Sonny Barrios suggested Reyes as a replacement. SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan then called Reyes for a meeting to invite him back at the helm. Reyes said he never asked for the job, never applied for it. When MVP broached the idea, Reyes said he couldn’t turn his back on the country and the PLDT chairman.
From the start, Reyes knew player availability would be an issue. At the FIBA Asia Cup here, Reyes said he was asked by coaches from different countries why the PBA stars were missing. “We’re the only country where our season is going on during the FIBA Asia Cup,” he said. “Every league is on break except ours.” Conflicted schedules with the PBA, UAAP, NCAA and foreign leagues where Filipinos play make it extremely difficult for any Gilas coach to assemble a consistent lineup for the various FIBA windows. It has resulted in what Barrios calls a revolving door policy with players coming and going, depending on their commitments with mother clubs. Clearly, the policy won’t turn in positive results any which way.
Reyes said Gilas’ situation was compounded with the unavailability of naturalized import Ange Kouame who’s undergoing physical therapy and standout Dwight Ramos, nursing a shin injury, for the FIBA Asia Cup. Against New Zealand, Reyes said Kouame would’ve made a difference since Gilas was badly outrebounded, 61-28. “If we had Dwight and Ange, maybe the outcome could’ve been different,” he said. “We didn’t have a scorer whom New Zealand considered a threat, someone to draw a double team so we could open up other shooters and get them good looks.” Reyes disclosed that there were efforts to bring in Jordan Clarkson for the FIBA Asia Cup to be that kind of magnet.
The good news is FIBA will assist national teams to enlist players from foreign leagues. Bobby Ray Parks, for instance, said he’ll play for the three coming FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying windows if his Japanese B.League team Nagoya allows it. For the World Cup, Parks said he’ll play if drafted since the B.League won’t be in season for the duration of the competition. Parks, Ramos and the Ravena brothers are similarly situated as they play as Asian imports in the B.League. The expectation is they’ll be in the pool for the World Cup.