Youth movement

SBP pins hopes on young guns I think that in 2023, we want to be a team that makes a very, very strong run at a second-round bid

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is investing on the future by pinning its hopes on young stars that would carry the torch when the country hosts the FIBA World Cup in 2023.

SBP program director Tab Baldwin said they know that winning is not an overnight process so they are now taking the first few steps towards regaining basketball glory by developing the stars of the future.

Baldwin has the materials to make it work.

Gilas Pilipinas has a deep bench of young players who are now making an impact in the global stage.

In fact, 18-year-old Kai Sotto is heading for a stint in the G League that would pave the way for his entry to the National Basketball Association (NBA) while 20-year-old Filipino-Nigerian AJ Edu is also making his presence felt in the Division I of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The 7-foot-2 slotman is making waves in the United States after months of development in a basketball academy based in Atlanta — The Skills Factory. He is now a four-star recruit and regarded as the best international player at the center position, drawing comparison to other foreign stars like Joel Embiid of Cameroon and Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia.

Edu, meanwhile, had some flashes of brilliance for University of Toledo, posting 3.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 blocks in just 14.3 minutes of action during his rookie season.

Although he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that slowed down his sophomore season, he is now back in harness until coronavirus pandemic canceled the NCAA season.

They carried Batang Gilas to the world stage — the FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina and the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece — and regarded as the future of Philippine basketball together with other young guns like Terrence Fortea, Carl Tamayo, Geoffrey Chui, Terrence Fortea, Gerry Abadiano and Dalph Panopio.

Sideliners believe that by the time the prestigious world tourney rolls around three years from now, both Sotto and Edu might be campaigning at the NBA while the rest of the national U19 squad could end up as standouts in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

“I think there’s an umbrella that covers what we can do and what we want to do,” Baldwin, who guided New Zealand to a pair of Olympic appearances, said during the

Coaches Unfiltered podcast last Thursday.

“First of all, we have decided at the SBP that the direction we are going to go is to build this program with an injection of youth looking forward to 2023 and ultimately, 2027.”

“That’s really our horizon.”

Baldwin added that the current Gilas members are just in the early stretch of their professional careers, which is a testament to their willingness to invest on a long-range program.

Skipper Kiefer Ravena is just 26 years old and would be at his peak when the World Cup rolls around while RR Pogoy is just 27 years old, Troy Rosario is 28, CJ Perez is 26, Abu Tratter is 27 and Poy Erram and Justin Chua are 30. Five-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo is also part of the youth movement as he will just be 33 years old when the World Cup tips off.

Of course, former collegiate standouts like Thirdy Ravena, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Isaac Go, Matt Nieto and Dwight Ramos would also definitely be on top of their games during the World Cup.

But Baldwin hinted that they could go deeper — and younger — into the pool.

“We don’t have this massive pool of player that we’re looking at,” said Baldwin, who led Ateneo de Manila University to a historic sweep of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

“We will be looking for younger players who will complement the injection of PBA players, but as time goes by, that role would be reversed.”

Baldwin said their main goal is to make a strong run in the World Cup.

“I think that in 2023, we want to be a team that makes a very, very strong run at a second-round bid. And by 2027, I think we want to see a team that has aspirations to be in the medal round.”

“Our ability here in the Philippines is limited at this point. But we want to expand that and that means both exposing our players to international training and competitions and also bringing in our resources here,” he said.

“We don’t like the delay but, fortunately, we are looking at a three-year horizon and a lot can still be accomplished in three years.”