Sauler’s ‘no-zone’ advocacy
Magnolia Hotshots assistant coach Juno Sauler is touring the country on his own when his PBA schedule permits to promote an advocacy that was born out of an extensive research on how Spain, Australia, Serbia and Lithuania are preaching basketball among the youth. Sauler said he reached out to FIBA clinician and Basketball Australia’s director of high performance, coach development and talent identification Peter Lonergan to conceptualize a program towards building a strong foundation at the U14 level.
Sauler said he was intrigued by the current FIBA world rankings where Spain is No. 1, Australia No. 3, Serbia No. 6, Lithuania No. 8 and the Philippines, long known for its love of the game, is a lowly No. 40. In the youth category, Sauler said the rankings are similar with Spain at No. 2, Australia No. 4, Lithuania No. 5, Serbia No. 6 and the Philippines No. 26.
“There are three countries in the world where basketball is considered a national sport – Serbia, Lithuania and the Philippines,” said Sauler, a three-time UAAP women’s and onetime UAAP men’s champion coach. “The population of Serbia is about seven million, Lithuania three million and the Philippines 114 million. We should work on a better FIBA ranking, considering that basketball is our national and most popular spectator sport.”
In his research, Sauler discovered that in youth leagues in Spain, Australia, Serbia and Lithuania, zone defense is discouraged and often, banned outright. The reason is they believe that playing man-to-man at the youth level is a better way to firm up on basics and hone skills. Sauler touched base with Lonergan, whom he met during a coaching course in Sydney in 2013, to probe deeper into the no-zone approach and the nurturing philosophy.
“The striking contrast in approaches to the development of young basketball players is the basis for my comparison of the Philippines with Spain, Australia, Serbia and Lithuania,” he said. “The Philippines primarily uses zone defense from youth leagues, pick-up games or streetball, village tournaments and school leagues. For the U15 age group, zone defense is discouraged in Serbia and Lithuania. Australia forbids the zone in U14 games. In Spain, until players are 13, zone defense isn’t allowed. I think zone defense hinders player development at the youth level because it forms bad habits, cuts up time that should be spent on fundamentals and compromises the physical and mental conditioning of kids.”
Sauler said he has discussed a proposal to ban zone at the U14 level for boys and girls with SBP Coaches Academy head and Gilas assistant coach Jong Uichico who was receptive to the idea. Sauler has also met with coaches in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and other basketball hotbeds in the country to open up their eyes to his crusade. He authored a guide manual to implement the program with the hashtag #StopPlayingZone and is circulating it to coaches. Sauler credited the implementing rules to Lonergan. Included in the guide are provisions for a zone checker during a game and technical fouls on the coaching staff for violations. Sauler said laying out the no-zone blueprint that has worked in highly-ranked FIBA countries is the first step in cementing the pathway for the youth to mature into skilled players ready to take the Philippines to the next level.