Keys to Victory

While going through some of my notes for the NZ camp, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how prophetic some of things discussed and worked on had on the results of making it back to the world cup.   

1.    During the team meeting to discuss Chot’s selection of the final 12 a few things stood out.

·         “I’ve always been consistent from day one that I want a team that is versatile and quick. With Kelly Williams absence , Japeth is our only athletic big , we need him to execute our aggressive pressure defence.

·         Madami nag sasabi bakit ako pumili na 3 PG’s , (again Chot was consistent with his approach for speed)

·         Belga showed his commitment to the team and his role to be a mentor to Junmar, the sentiments was Junmar needed to improve

·         Chot mentioned MVP has agreed to his request that Belga and Slaughters receive all the privileges and perks as members of the team.  (including stay at the same hotel during FIBA Asia)

2.    Tab works on defensive scheme and individually with the bigs on focus areas to work on

·         A pick and roll defensive scheme named after”Tab” was created and practiced -  Instructing how the small and big man should cover the P & R.  (scouting on what to give based on a players offensive strength & weaknesses was the basis for how to defend the P &R).  Junmar really struggled with his footwork executing what was required

·         Tab put special attention and focus on Pingris and Japeth individual defence approach. He knew they would be key to winning

·         He worked with Ping on his shooting stroke (Ping shot very well from the FT line in FIBA)

·         He worked on Jap’s face up game , jumpers and hard drive

3.    Chot’s assessment on team chances after teams watch jones cup

·         We can beat any team in the Jones cup, no one is going to be able to stop us from running our offense and getting our shots.  They can only hope we miss enough of them

·         It’s defence and rebounding that we really have to work on ( Tab’s says the Philippines has a reputation as a poor rebounding team, most teams attack this weakness) -  True enough defence is what we lacked vs Tiapei in the loss and defense and rebounding was what won it for Gilas vs Korea.

Daddy and the Philippine team

The article (link below) on Uichico and Jacobs brought back so many memories, and made me realise why I follow and support the Philippine national team with so much passion. As a young boy I had a some what of a unique preference to root for Jacob’s NCC Philippine team and players rather than the more popular PBA pros Toyota and Cripsa players.  I remember my cousins, dissing me for rooting for a team made up of Americans (Moore , Engelend) and amateurs  (Non pros Calma, Caidic etc). 

Fast forward to 1998. I visited Bangkok, Thailand (the country where I grew up due to my dad’s work assignment)  to watch the Philippine national team compete in the Asian games. (In the quarterfinals the Philippines lost to Korea)  I approached coach Chot, who was then the assistant to coach Cone, after the game for a short chat and pictures (that picture after losing to Korea was what I used for Chot to recognise me for the 2013 NZ tour).  

Fast forward to 2002, my dream of Jacobs once again coaching the 2002 National team became a reality (so I thought).  With my excitement my dad and I would go to the Moro Lorenzo Ateneo training facility to watch the National team practice.  I remember my dad scribbling players' names with their stats with his preferred line-up.  (Coach Jacobs suffered a stroke while preparing and his understudy Uichico took his place, we lost to Korea in the semis on last second shot).

Fast forward to 2007, I had since migrated to New Zealand, but still followed the national team.  My dad offered to record the games of the National team from the Philippine broadcast. Chot Reyes had been appointed head coach for the 1^st time.  Daddy recorded a few games in the Jones cup.  He also suffered a stroke then.  When I flew back to Manila to be with him, some of the things I talked to him about was the Philippine National team.  I knew he enjoyed getting updates on the Philippine team,  even if he could not respond because of the stroke.  Dad eventually went to be with the Lord a couple of years after.

Fast forward 2013 – The National team coaches (Chot and Uichico), who my dad and I use to just talk about, now became people who I talked to on a regular basis as organizer of the NZ tour.  (Chot and Uichico were Head coaches and chief assistant coaches of the Philippine team). Uichico was my roommate in the 10-day NZ tour.  The Philippine beat Korea in the semis, qualifying for the World cup and revenging both the 1998 and 2002 loss where  Chot and then Uichico respectably were coaches. This was also the 1^st time we qualified for the World championships since Jacob’s 1985 team.  Somehow I can't help but think that my dad was watching with pride how we finally won!

http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/news/jacobs-truly-porud-of-what-gilas-achieved-says-uichico-

Insight: Room assignments (who mentored who?)

While organising the NZ tour, I was given the room assignments of each player (who rooms with who) and coach. On the surface it didn’t mean much, but in hindsight , you really saw the influence each player had on their roommate.

 Here are is a list of their room assignments,  I'm sure this was not done randomly and  I’m sure coach Chot and Manager Butch had their reasoning behind the room assignments. Here are lasting impressions I have of each room assignment :

1.      Alapag and Tenorio:   Tenorio said.  “Kaya din siguro ni-roommate ako kay Jimmy eh,”

“Siguro sa lahat ng meeting namin, sa activities namin, nakita ni Coach. I need to be like (Jimmy). I need to step up when Jimmy’s not there.”

 “Gusto ko rin maging katulad niya na til the end of his career, naglaro siya para sa Pilipinas,” he said.

“To be honest, I want to be like him. As a player, as a person — wala akong masabi.”

2.      Jason and Gary : From a personality point of view you couldn’t find a better example of comparing an introvert (Jason) and an extrovert(Gary) the designated joker of the team. In contrast I hardly heard Jason talk at all. Seriously, even in the documentaries he never volunteered to be interviewed, this despite practically being the best player on the team

3.      Jeff and Larry: In contrast to Jason and Gary who were opposites, Jeff and Larry were so similar in personality. (quiet) , the 2 guys hardly went out. (home buddies) these two really basically stayed in the hotel. Both were always communicating with their young families (their wife and kids ) back home.

4.      Gabe and Ranidel: In terms of cultural and language background I never understood how these 2 guys understood each other,  (American and a true pinoy), sometimes Ranidel would crack a joke in tagalog and Gabe would laugh. (and I was like did you even understand him: :)

5.      Ping and Japeth: From a playing style perspective you couldn’t find two players who were exact opposite , (physical vs finesse ) , I felt Pings toughness really rubbed of on Japeth in a good way. What I found surprising is that they really got along of the court , in fact they were the 2 players that spent the most time together ( they looked like a couple J

6.      Beau and Junmar: Here was really a case of a master (Beau) mentoring a student (Junmar). Belga was really consistently on Junmar’s case, especially about being physical. In some cases it was funny, in one instance ,after Beau gives instructions to Junmar before he goes in, a few seconds after referee calls a foul on Junmar J . A touching moment in the tour was when the final 12 was announced to the team. After Belga spoke about his role to be a mentor to Junmar, Junmar spoke and said : Thank you ,  just those two words and the whole team broke out in laughter , because that’s practically the only two words we heard from Junmar, yet it was so sincere.  

Oh I almost forgot I had the opportunity to room with coach Jong, I really admired his humility.  Here was a former National team coach , yet he seemed to be at his best element being an assistant.  I’ve wondered why Jong was no longer a head coach of a team, with my time with him I realized he really fits the assistant coach role best. Having said that he could actually be the most knowledgeable basketball mind in the country, his insight and knowledge of the game is incredible, of the charts. .   

The Finals vs Iran

World Cup Qualifiers : 1st Iran, 2nd: Pilipinas, 3rd : Korea

The Semifinals ticket to Spain: Belief and PUSO

Sorry it took me so long to write about the semifinals game against Korea. With all the euphoria and traveling back home to New Zealand, it took me some time to find time to do this.  Two words come to my mind: Belief and PUSO.  I remember clearly that these were the two things Coach Tab mentioned during the NZ camp that the team needed to be successful .  He felt the team wasn’t there yet at that point.  Whenever Coach Tab and Chot discussed the team's chances in NZ the discussion would go something like this:

Chot:  The competition in FIBA Asia this year is really tough, even teams like Taipei have naturalised a player,
Tab:  I feel we’ve got a very good shot on qualifying for the worlds, but the players must believe and  must really be tough.

I knew Tab knew it would be difficult to accomplish the goal. But for him it was really important that there was the belief that the team could do it.  Chot the realist and looking at all the details that could possibly go wrong wanted to make sure all bases are covered.

The Korean game was really the perfect game to demonstrate this. We always had doubts if we could beat Korea (a team that always seem to beat us), and with Marcus going out in the 1^st half, those doubts must have grown even bigger for many.  But for the people who mattered: the team, its coaches and players this didn’t seem to be the situation.  No matter the obstacle (injury , the Korean jinx) , the feeling was we would refuse to lose today. (that could not happen, the players wouldn’t allow it)

Most of the player with family rushed to our end of the stands when the final buzzer went off.  This whole journey took a lot of sacrifices from their family and friends (their biggest supporters). From Jimmy, Gabe, Ping, Chan, Larry each one sought out their loved ones to give them a hug  for the all their support.

When Chot came out of the locker room and hugged his wife and wept, I gave him a big high five and said: You did it coach!  When Coach Tab saw me, he grabbed me, hugged me tightly and said we did it! I said look how far we’ve gone, who would have thought we would get here (when I first called you 2 months or so ago).  Larry Fonacier said: sama ka sa Spain ha!

Time to start brushing up on my Espanol

The Quarterfinals: Gary’s and Japeth’s breakout game

I posted earlier that these 2 players have taken the heat: Jap because of his career prior to FIBA Asia and David because he has been struggling in the tournament. I have made it a point to encourage the players when I see them. First I met Jason at the hotel, then the rest of the team at the arena: Jimmy, Marcus, Gabe, Larry and then Garry and Japeth - just high-fives and "let’s go". I then had talked to Coach Tab Baldwin and asked if the team is ready. He said they have to be. Talked to the Physio Dex and asked if everyone is in good form: Marcus? Del? Ok naman raw. They entered the arena at halftime of the Chinese Taipei – China game, and Taipei was pulling away.  Another positive sign that this could be Gilas' time. You could also see that, in contrast to the Hong Kong game, the players were focused and had their game faces on.

We started the game strong build a double digit in the 1^st quarter. David came out hot, three consecutive 3’s. I have almost forgotten how good a scorer this guy was. While we were making our shots, I knew that for us to win this game, our defense had to be solid consistent. We will begin to miss shots and Kazakhstan will definitely make a run, which they did. Then this is when Japeth’s energy and defense really came useful. Not only did he alter points inside, but he closed out on their tall shooters. In one play he blocked an open outside shot, saved the ball from going out, then ran down for a wicked slam . A Lebron-like play.  Japeth's presence relieved Douthit (who was obviously limping) from having to come back in to gave him the rest needed for tomorrow’s semis game.

When the final buzzer sounded ending the game, the team huddled in midcourt, and for the 1^st time most of the players ran into our end of courtside (where family and friends were seating). Sitting in 1^st row, I was engulfed in a mad rush of people. I congratulated each player with high fives, pats, etc. Gabe, Japeth, Ping and Marcus, one by one.  This is what we all worked for from day one - to get into the semis.

The players then entered the locker room. I then talked to Larry’s wife about the sacrifices he made to get to this point.  The players came out one after another to meet their families (with cheers from the crowd). Jimmy then reminded us that it’s still one more win away (short of saying let’s not celebrate yet). At this time, the Korea and Qatar game was underway with Korea pulling away.  We will play the winner of this game in the semis. I looked across the court and saw Coaches Tab and Norman busy at work, scouting the Koreans for tomorrow.  Then I realized that we haven’t done anything yet. It’s still all business, no relaxing, no time for celebration. We still need our game faces on!

Day 6 : Easy game vs Hong Kong

This is actually deja vu for me, I remember the day in NZ , 6^th day in the tour, we just landed in beautiful Auckland.  So much to see for a tourist,  I brought Marcus to the ciropracter for a nagging injury, as we are going to play the weakest team in the tour the Rangers, I expected Marcus to sit it out – easy game anyway right?  Marcus told me he’s never missed a game in FIBA Asia , and said if this was FIBA Asia he would be playing. I totally agreed the main thing is you have to be healthy.  The rest of the team was in total relax mode ,  joking around with their new place to see. (the Sky Tower bungy jump was there for anyone to dare try it) , LA asked about the team they were playing tonight , I said they were “mahina” weak.  When we entered the arena, it was packed with Filipino fans all greeting us like heroes. It was like we came in for a party not a game.

Fast forward August 7,  the team probably had a hangover from last nights big win over Qatar. As usual sleep and rest is what players normally do before the game..  I decided to catch the Qatar vs Chinese Tiapei game on TV in one the restaurants in Makati (it’s the 2^nd quarter the game is close),  Jimmy , Gabe and Marcus decide to watch the game as well,  hey Qatar just posted a double digit lead,  wait let’s start cheering for Chinese Tiapei so Qatar does not bring the lead to 16 points (if they do their 1^st seed),  Oh no we cheered too much , Tiapei tied the game with like a minute to go J.   But they had enough to get the W.   Wow we’re the 1^st seed , ..Hong Kong next, that’s mere formality.  I don’t know what it is but you really can kind of predict when a team is going to play well or not based on their demeanor. It’s the game face thing.  Gilas didn’t have it they were too relaxed , no pressure (pressure is good sometimes). The team enters the MoA much like they did in Auckland, joking around , photo opps from fans etc.. Whew this will be a “walk in the park” ..   We all know what happened next..    

Day 5: The story of Qatar

The team I learned most about in recent days has been Qatar. Thanks to a friend and colleague (won’t mention name here, but for the purpose of this post let’s just call him JOHN).  John who has worked with the Qatar team says that while the team is loaded with money, it is highly mismanaged  The team is really an old team (some of their stars are no longer willing to put in the hard work, and have been spoiled by money).  I asked John, what is Qatar’s plan given the restrictions FIBA has set with eligibility (e.g. must have passport by 16 years old).  His answer - simple (which was surprising boarding on scandalous). Qatar is currently recruiting 14 and 15 year old boys from Africa, Serbia (or wherever they can find players) and making them citizens on the spot.   While a questionable practice, under FIBA rules it’s totally legit. So watch out for Qatar in the next few years.  But John and I have doubts with their approach and strategy. All the money in the world does not buy you good management, which Qatar is ridiculously bad at. This team can’t even get the color right of which uniform to bring. It is such a contrast to working with Gilas' professional management which thinks of every detail. Qatar on the other hand just mails you a check and leaves you to do the rest.

Now back to the game, John's recommendationwas to play zone. Qatar is a bad shooting team. The other thing he noted was being an old team with a short rotation and heavily dependent on Jarvis, they will tire out, especially if you play quick and throw waves of fresh legs on them.  As I watched the game unfold in front of me, what my friend just told me happened.  I told him dude you were right.  He laughs and says maybe I should be a scout :)

Japan game - My “PUSO” post!

OK, for a change this post is not going to have much analysis but is going to be all about “PUSO” - heart. For those of you who have been following my posts, I am probably the most maligned forum member for supporting Japeth Aguilar. Jap is probably one of the most criticized player as well. Currently, the player taking the heat is Gary David.  Let’s not fool ourselves. For all the support Gary is getting, he is getting beat up in forums.  I’ve eavesdropped on conversations with  some basketball people in MoA and you could hear the gripes. Let’s start with Jap – the things people love to talk about is what he cannot do (e.g. can’t bang, etc) rather than what he can do. Quite honestly, he is Gilas' best big man pick-and-roll defender and weak-side shot blocker.  He is Marcus' primary reliever at center. I find it amusing when people questioned my opinion that I thought Aguilar was never in the bubble to be cut. The thing is, Jap has already been  playing at this level in Lithuania and New Zealand and it’s not just now (FIBA Asia) that he is showing “it”.  And people (in this forum) know that I've witnessed this, yet still believe what the media and others have been saying.  So you can imagine how silly I found the conversation that he was going to be cut (yeah right, cut your best big man outside of Marcus - Del and Ping are not Bigs in Chot’s scheme).

Now let’s talk about Gary. As far as NZ was concerned, he was next to Marcus. Gary was the team's next best scorer. So you’ve got to forgive me when I find it ridiculous when I hear comments that he should not have made the team.  Here’s a secret. In one of the games in NZ that required one last defensive stop, Chot put Gary in for defense. He did this again in the last Kazaksthan game. While Gary can’t be confused with being a Ryan Reyes, for some reason Chot trusts his defense. Honestly, I can’t see what Chot sees in Gary’s defense. But this is what I can see: the team trusts Gary to be accountable as a leader and doing the right things for the team – sacrifice selfless things.  Gary honestly has earned the respect as the player willing to do anything for the team including sacrificing his game. He said "sa PBA I reserve my energy in defense to be the scorer expected of me. Dito sa Gilas iba. Masaya na ako kahit 7 pts lang ako pero sa defense, yun and focus ko."  Do you guys get it now? This is a team. They will die and fight for one another. Their roles are different from what they are expected to do in the PBA.  And for this reason both Japeth and Gary are actually irreplaceable players for Gilas. Who they are as players and people make-up the psyche of the Gilas team. Take both out and it’s really not Gilas 2 anymore.

As this is my blog, I get to say what I want --  to all the doubters out there, in behalf of the players who make Gilas 2 - F.. you! (and I say that with all PUSO).

Gilas vs Chinese Taipei: Aug 3

First of all, let's give credit where it is due. Taipei played with a lot of discipline. They didn't give up even if they were down big in the 4th. And, of course, shot efficiently well from outside as usual.

Still, it's a hard pill to swallow when you're up by double digits in the 4th only to allow a team to come back. The crowd gave Gilas a lot of energy. This Gilas team is building a reputation of playing hot and cold and feeds off emotion from the crowd to bring out the energy. Unfortunately, this comes with its disadvantages. For one, if you rely on energy and shooting to give you the W, you will have stretches where you can't score as we saw in the 4th quarter.  This type of game requires a deep rotation, and if any player is unable to contribute, the main guys suffer. In a 3-minute stretch at the start of the 4th , David, Chan and Ping failed to bring it. By the time starters Jason, Marcus and Gabe came back in, the lead was close to a basket and the main guys looked spent.  They did not get enough rest to bring in the energy to finish the game.

It also comes down to defense, defense, defense. Taipei scored close to 30 points in the 4th. Again, when you rely on energy to play defense and you get tired, you are really at the mercy of a good shooting team, which Taipei just showed us.

In New Zealand, the player rotation was generally: Castro, David, Gabe, Ranidel and Marcus started (when Marcus rested Junmar was the starting center). The second unit consisted of LA, Larry, Chan, Ping and Japeth.  Alapag normally finished the games with Castro at the backcourt. Now here is the thing, Gary David played well as a starter in NZ and gave Chan and Larry the role as sparks off the bench. But when Gary fails to deliver it forces Chot to go with Larry or Chan early. The problem with that is we lose our bench (our  mircowaves off the bench). By using the 2nd unit early, it also tires them out with nothing left to finish off the game. As we witnessed yesterday vs Taipei, Chot took the blame for not rotating his players well, not leaving enough in the tank to finish. But to a certain extent, he didn't have much choice as David, LA and Chan failed to contribute.  That left Chot no choice but to leave Larry and Gabe in for extended minutes.

Gilas vs Jordan blog

I watched the GIlas vs. Jordan game with my Lithuanian counterpart, Edgaras.  We got to be the VIPs this time as camp organisers.  Edgaras and I compared  insightful notes: who did well in Lithuania and NZ; what schemes where worked on; etc.  We both agreed that the team looked jittery (nerves) and moved away from what they worked on in camp. Marcus waited too long before he got into the game.  His mental readiness was slow.  Japeth did well on both camps.  Junmar was average.  The main guys who did well during the camps (with the exception of David), Jason, Jeff, Gabe, Ranidel and Ping, showed up vs. Jordan.
After the game, I got a warm welcome, hugs and high-fives when I met the team, Coach Tab and Coach Chot.

How do we defend against, 6’6” – 6’9 imports?

Qatar has 6’7” Jarvis Hayes, Jordan has 6'6" Jimmy Baxter and Chinese-Taipei has 6'9" Quincy Davis.  It’s not the first time our team has had to face these types of scoring  import  wings or bigs. To name a few: 6’8" Kareem  Johnson and 6'9” Euro shooting-type big man Darko, who were both from the Hawks, 6’7” scoring Barkley-like  BJ Anthony, who played for the NBL select and Tall Blacks, and  6’7" swingman Saints’ import Bryant Markson.  Both Kareem and Markson put big numbers on the Philippines  while Darko outplayed Marcus on back-to-back games.  BJ Anthony with his physicality and speed was a real headache for Gilas. It’s interesting to note that what slowed BJ down in the Tall Blacks' game was a physical game with hard fouls.  BJ had to leave the game with blood on his face and a fight almost broke out.  I think this is Gilas' only resort or recipe to counter these big, speedy imports.  We have no choice but to really play tough and physical against our rivals' naturalized players.

How will Gilas perform in the 1st two rounds (based on NZ sample results)

One of the things we wanted to achieve with Gilas NZ tour was to replicate the 1^st two rounds of FIBA Asia using a 3 straight games then rest and another 3 straight games format.  While obviously not exactly the same, let me try as best as possible to compare the teams Gilas played & the results in NZ with who we’re projected to play & possible outcomes in the 1^st , two round in FIBA Asia

Day 1:  Gilas played the Hawks in NZ  ,  Gilas will play Saudi Arabia in FIBA Asia

-      Chot mentioned before the  Hawks game , this is August 1, were playing against Saudi , let’s come out strong.  This Hawks team actually was strong- it’s backcourt featured 2 current Tall Blacks , Kenny (PG) , Bartlet (SG) at SF they had former Tall Black ( The rock as nick named by the Gilas boys cause he looks like the Rock) , Tweener Forward , (Prewster) who was a Tall black pool memberthis year. 2 imports 6’8 Kareem Johnson , and 6’9 Serb (Darko ) these 2 imports outplayed Marcus.  As you can see the Hawks team was vastly superior to what the Saudi’s are,  In fact I think they are even better the Chinese Tiapei or Jordan. Yet Gilas beat this team away from home (game was closed though)

-      Grade: PASS

Day 2: Gilas played the Hawks again, Gilas will play Jordan in FIBA Asia (reinforced by Baxter)

-      Hawks minus PG Kenny and import Kareem who failed to play for the Hawks,  it is arguable if this Hawks team is stronger than Jordan , but it still is definitely stronger than Saudi, this game was not as close as the 1^st game, but was still tight. Collectively the trio of Barlet, the Rock and Prewster. All stading between 6’4 and 6’6 can approximate a Baxter.  I doubt Jordan also has players equivalent to the big Darko. (who once again outplayed Marcus)

-      Grade- Neutral

Day 3 :Gilas played the NBL selection, Gilas will play Chinese Tiapei in FIBA

-      This NBL selection by far is superior talent wise, it featured, bigs Darko and Kareem , Bull strong 6’9 “centre Atkins, Versatile big BJ Anthony ( 6, 8”) and 6’8 Small forward Marcel Jones. What it didn’t have is the chemistry and cohesion Chinese –Tiapei. While we lost by 1,  the game actually was decided with more than a minute left. (David made a meaningless 3 pointer when time expired)

-      Grade- PASS

Day 4  After a one day Break Gilas played the Saints , Gilas could play HK in the 1^st game of round 2.

-      The Saints were a real team , reeling of disappointment loss 3 days ago.  They wanted to show some pride.  The frontcourt was pretty good, 6’8 center Trousdale (former Tall Black) , PF (point forward) great Dillion Boucher and 6,7  athletic import Markson -  Obviously there is no comparison with HK, in fact the Saints team was more like Chinese tiapei. (Talent & chemistry wise)    On this day Gilas actually played bad , were outworked and outhustled by the Saints. (Marus didn’t play)  They really got a tough lashing from the coaches , so while they didn’t face a weak team like HK, they underperformed in what was supposed to be a big game where they needed to play well.

-      Grade : FAIL

-       

Day 5-  Gilas played the weakest NZ team the Rangers,  Gilas could play Japan in FIBA asia

-      While I wouldn’t say Japan is just as strong as the Rangers , they actually were not bad, their frontline avg 6’7 in height and had Boucher. (from a organiser standpoint I was disappointed with who the Rangers put on the court, I actually secured agreement from 2 imports Kareem and Darko to reinforce the Rangers, yet the Rangers coach decided to go without them , they pocketed the ticket sales) , anyway minus Marcus we played actually soft in the 1^st half ( Chot said parang kayo mga bakla mag foul), anyway Gilas just had enough to rely on talent to win convincingly (18 pts).

-      Grade- Neutral  

Day 6 – Gilas played the Tall Blacks , Gilas could play Qatar here (Jervis Hayes)

-      While the Tall Blacks may have seemed uncohesive at this point having just been assembled a day before, they were surprisingly very well organised, a testament to the continuous system coach Nenad has put in place the last few years.  While Jervis and whoever Qatar puts on the court will be athletic and talented, I really don’t see them as being as talented as the Tall Blacks. Chot himself mentioned we will not meet a team this talented (except China and Iran) in FIBA Asia, yet our team played their best game ever, losing by 1 on a controversial call away from home

-      Grade- PASS

Final Grade-  While Gilas went (Wins 3 and loss 3) in NZ , which is not good enough to top Group E. considering the stronger competition and that we were playing on the road , I can easily see Gilas going 4 wins- 2 losses or 5 wins -1 loss.  Gilas actually in my assessment should place in the top 2 in

See you all in Manila this August- nope, let’s meet next August in Spain instead!

After the Tall Blacks game and Gilas last night in New Zealand, I mentioned to team- Gilas playing the Tall blacks which required a lot of effort and luck was a dream come true for me (1st Tall Black vs Gilas game in 51 years). But I said while this is great, this is not “The goal”.  A bigger dream is to join the Tall Blacks (already qualified for the World cup) in Spain!   This was a fitting way to end the NZ tour, we raised our glasses (toast) to the players and the team for a great tour and a blessing for FIBA Asia, then Chot spoke (he was just discussing things with Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucenic over the post-game dinner) and said we are now planning a joint Tall Blacks and Gilas European tour prior to Spain next August!  That my friends, is our goal. While it will be great to meet you all in Manila this August, no offense, but I’d rather meet all of you in Spain in August 2014!  

Coach Tab

I cannot say enough good things about coach Tab Baldwin, he basically was my saviour for the NZ tour, without him I wouldn’t have delivered. The motive why he offers to help is really unheard of in this day of age of cut throat business world. This guy does not need the money, has nothing to prove, he has accomplished everything already.  Some things I can’t share, but believe me when I say the Gilas team was shocked with his generosity.  This guy is totally the opposite of Toroman from a relationship basis, the players just are drawn to him (they love him to bits and would really die for him.   I just feel so lucky to know him, and that he is taking me on the ride and potentially will be doing a number of things together (planning the details now),  

BTW one of the most astonishing things in the NZ tour was when coach Tab introduced his 15 year old son, the team was doing their shooting drills , Chot calls Tab son, you want to join, he being shy and all, reluctantly accepts.  He joins the perimeter players group (guards and wings (e.g. David, Jimmy, Larry Chan etc) , guess what the 15 year old kid smokes them with his 3 point shooting accuracy , Chot says to Tab what do you guys eat , bakit ang galing mag shoot yan,  BTW Tab himself can literally outshoot any of the Gilas players.  Sabi ni Jeff and LA, inaturalise natin si Tab. Grabe mag shoot..   Up to now I’m astonished at how a father and son could shoot so well, WTH do they eat !

What have we learned from the Tall Blacks vs China & Gilas vs Kazaks games?

On the last preview/tune-up games prior to FIBA Asia ,three FIBA Asia contending teams played almost simultaneously  at 7pm 26,th July, Manila time.  The 4^th team involved the Tall Blacks while not part of FIBA Asia was a good yard stick to judge these teams as the same team played Gilas just a week ago.

In that Gilas vs Tall Blacks game , Gilas played the Tall Blacks to a practical draw (loss by 1 with a controversial call with 2 seconds to go),  the Tall Blacks on the other hand loss to China by 1 on a last second shot by Wang Zhizhi , last night.  The Tall Blacks were leading all the way , until the referees basically decided the game , giving the Chinese a 25-8 edge in free throw attempts.

As assistant coach Paul Henare said :

 “You never want to harp on about it, but when you come to play China in China, you have to expect some flak from the refs,” said Henare. “It’s hard to explain to people back home without it seeming like sour grapes.

“You expect it, you just have to be that much better and for most of these two games, I thought we were.”

This might sound ironic but watching both game live  (the Tall Blacks vs the Chinese and vs Gilas), I came away thinking Gilas actually was more competitive than the Chinese despite the end game results.  “Context of where the games were played and how the referees actually called the game had a lot to do with it”

Here are a few takes from the Tall Blacks , Chinese games worth mentioning :

·         Despite the Tall Blacks being undersize by close to 3 inches in every position, the Tall Blacks out-rebounded their rivals 25-15, restricting them to just one offensive rebound.   Two of our main bigs Franks and Anthony fouled out , leaving 6’7 Vukona to play center ,  It is interesting to note that while Gilas was not as tall as the Chinese,  Marcus and Pingris held their own against the Tall Black front line .

·         6’1” guard Corey Webster who top scored for the Tall Blacks (19 pts) and had 3, three pointers was basically unstoppable of the dribble and moving without the ball (kick outs and handoffs) vs China.  Those characteristics are very similar to the strengths of Gilas brings to the table .  

While I won’t go as far as saying that Gilas is better side than China, I will say that the Chinese can be beaten by Gilas in Manila. 

The making of the Gilas vs Tall Blacks game : 6 Quarters ?!

One of the reasons the Tall Blacks vs Gilas game was played behind closed doors was the possible repercussions the Tall Blacks would have received from local media if they didn’t play well or if they lost the game. Loosing to a 45^th ranked team (Gilas) , especially when the goal is to beat Australia would certainly not go down well in the local media. Make your own conclusions why the referee decided the game. But to be fair to the Tall Blacks this was really an unfair disadvantage when the team was just formed 24 hours ago. (they had a 2 day trails, just before Thursday) .  So really the Philippines was only grateful that the Tall Blacks accepted our invitation to play them. After the game Basketball NZ asked me, if we did report the game results to media locally and the Philippines to provide some context. (e.g. the Tall Blacks were missing key players and was just recently formed)

The format of the game was actually still in question just before tip off, in our initial talks with the Tall Blacks, TB Head Coach Nenad suggested 6 quarters. I believe at the time he was thinking he would still have his 19 man pool available.  Chot had apprehensions that this would be too taxing for the Gilas team , especially after just playing 5 games. So just before tip-off Coach Chot asked me to ask Nenad what the format was, which I did, to my and Gilas relief he agreed to an official normal 4 quarter game. Having said that the Gilas players were actually all warned that this could be a 6 quarter game and were prepared to play 6 quarters!   

BTW a hisorian mentioned prior to the game this would be  the 1st Tall Black vs Gilas game in 51 years

Assessing the Tall Black result vs China in relation to Gilas

I’m not really too worried with the Tall Blacks result vs China and using it as a comparison to the TB game vs Gilas.  If I learned anything the last thing I would do is do “Bahrami” – “if team A beats team b and Team B beat C  therefore how can team C beat A”, basketball doesn’t work that way.

But the thing to note if you watched the games (Tall Blacks vs Gilas and China) is asses how the teams competed when they had their best players on the court.  The Tall Blacks start and finish (if the game is close) with- Kenny, Webster, Te-Rangi, Vukona and Franks,  BJ Anthony and Bartlet and maybe Salt are the only other worthy players of significance if you want to assess competitiveness,  If you noticed when the Tall Blacks started with this line-up vs Gilas, we outplayed them at least in the (1^st qtr) start, the end game (4^th was a draw), when they used the same line-up vs China last night ,  the Tall Blacks out played China. (let me just qualify this, I really don’t know if China played with their full team as well) . Guys don’t make much of the blowout stretch run China had (17-1 etc) or when Gilas played significantly better in 2 to 5 minutes stretches (The Tall Blacks were basically playing with High school boys during those stretches-  Izayah, Jordan , Salt , wala yun )..  those guys won’t get game time when we play Australia,  their really there simply for future long term development.  For Australia 14 and 16 August, Pledger and Abercombrie are coming in,  and next year (World cup) expect- Adams (Tall Blacks will pay his NBA insurance) , Penny, Fortu, Tait and Tai Webster. (A totally different team ),  basically the Tall Black team you have now is the B- team , or the 2^nd unit with cadet players.     

Joint Philippine and New Zealand partnership

How do you feel about the prospect of the Philippines and New Zealand building a more solid relationship in basketball? 

Excellent with a lot of possibilities, not only at the elite senior men’s level (Gilas and Tall Blacks) but at the different age group level as well. Games, camps either in the Philippines or New Zealand are a few of the possibilities.  Basketball New Zealand is preparing for the possibility of a merger of the two zonal groups FIBA Asia and Oceania after 2016. So obviously there is mutual interest to work together . The NZ tour helped established the connections and relationships (coach Tab and Nenad Vucenic) and moving forward should only further be developed. 

Some of the ideas are 

• Basketball camp in Auckland and Wellington targeting potential Filipino players
• Bringing an NZ NBL team to Manila to play PBA teams
• Bringing an Under 19 NZ team to Manila to play the top college teams in the Philippines
• If Gilas qualifies for the World cup in Spain a joint National Team camp/tour in Europe prior to Spain (Aug 2014)

Home court in a foreign land: New Zealand's pinoy crowd

What was the experience like attending Philippine team games in New Zealand? How was the Pinoy crowd? 

The crowd while small compared to Manila standards (600 for Auckland game and 1,300 for Wellington game) was really passionate and supportive of Gilas (90 % of the crowd was Filipino). The 1^st game in Napier, Auckland and Wellington games were filled to or close to capacity.  Even the game vs the NBL selection (prelude to the NBL Finals) had a large Filipino make-up that was close to even matching the number of fans who watched the NZ NBL finals.

Gilas player performance in the NZ games

What did you think of the Philippine team on the court? Were there any players who were particularly impressive? How do you think they would do in the FIBA Asia Championship?

The chemistry and cohesiveness on the offensive end looked well established. The player rotations and each ones roles seems well established, Gilas ability to create a decent or good look within the context of its system was evident. I also see the fruits of the players working on their outside shots, I believe the players ability to hit their shots was good.  The bigs particularly Japeth and to a certain extent Junmar were able to hold their own when Marcus was not available or sat (that’s an obvious positive). The normal guards and wings suspects (David, Castro, LA, Jimmy, Gabe, Jeff and Larry) delivered as we’ve seen in the pass. Chot obviously has his player rotation (starting 5, 2nd unit etc) and combinations.

Defensively I saw a marked improvement from the PBA All star game, as well as improvement from game 1 to game 6 (Tall Blacks game) of the NZ tour

Coaches finding new recruits from middle earth

pic courtesy of Coach Chot

Gilas vs Saints Game

Here are great pics courtesy of Alan Raga

Saints vs Gilas Alan Raga Photograpy

Gilas vs Tall Blacks

I believe this was Gilas 2's best game since it was established, to be competitive vs the Tall Blacks even though they just assembled 3 days ago speaks volumes of the competitiveness of Gilas. Talent wise, not many teams in FIBA Asia will be as talented as the team Gilas played on the 18th of July. Another thing to note is the Tall Blacks played hard, physical and really came to play. 

The Tall Black players worth special mention for the night are: 18 year old Reuben Te Rangi (who made a fewclutch 3 pointers) , Corey Webster and Casey Franks of the Saints. Point Guard Jarrod Kenny and wing Barlett of Tab Baldwin’s Hawkes Bay Hawks., Mick Vukona of the Breakers and Nelson Giants and BJ Anthony of Otago.
17 year old big man 6'10 Jack Salt had a few crucial baskets against Doulthit at the stretch.
A sight to watch was the match-up between Mick Vukona and Mark Pingris , whose games are mirror images of each other. Mick being 2 or 3 inches taller and at least 20 lbs heavier 

the wing and backcourt match-ups , was any hoop nut dream

According to historians this was the 1st Philippine National team vs Tall Blacks game in 51 years, while the game was played in a closed door arena, the significance of the event cannot be undermined. This will go down in history as one of the greatest games ever played, I have the scanned copy of the score sheet which i plan to frame as a testament that it actually happened.

The Tall Blacks starters were:

PG: Kenny
SG : Webster
SF : Te Rangi
PF: Vukona
C: Franks

Main relievers:   BJ Anthony Barlett and Salt

Tall black leading scorers: Te Rangi : 14,  Anthony: 12 , Webster: 10,  Franks 9, Vukona 8, Kenny 7  

               Tall Blacks   vs  Gilas
1st Qtr:        14                22
2nd Qtr        14                16
3rd Qtr         25                12
4th  Qtr        24                27

The Making of Gilas NZ Tour

They say things happen in a strange way.  The Gilas team was originally scheduled to play in the Jones Cup in Tiapei.  But because of an international dispute (where a Filipino Coast guard shot and killed a Chinese Tiapei fisherman), the Philippines, who is the defending champion of the Jones Cup, was un-invited to the tournament.

I was already in contact with Chot when this happened.  Chot and I had plans all set to bring the Wellington Saints to Manila to play Gilas from 17 to 21 July.  But due to the Jones Cup’s “uninvite”, I asked Chot if he would consider visiting NZ to get the necessary preparation games instead of the games they would have played in the Jones Cup.

Chot and I then began arranging games to fill up their New Zealand tour.  It was important for Chot that Gilas play competitive teams – teams who had both talented players and also were already organized (a team that had been playing together for some time).  Chot agreed so I started contacting NZNBL teams.

Because there were already preliminary plans with the Wellington Saints, they were the first to agree to play Gilas. I also rang three other teams: the Nelson Giants, Otago Nuggets and the Manawatu Jets.  They were all keen to play Gilas but they could only give a decision after the NBL Finals on 14 July. 

I also suggested to Chot that we could fill some of his time here to consult with legendary Kiwi Coach, Tab Baldwin.  Tab is the coach who brought NZ to a top-4 finish in the 2002 World Championships.  When I got in touch with Coach Tab, he was very keen to help.  Tab suggested three games in Napier.  These were two games with his current team the Hawkes Bay Hawks and one with an NBL-selection team that he would form to play the Gilas as a prelude to the NBL Finals game.

Aside from the Wellington Saints, I was also initially pursuing the national team of New Zealand, the Tall Blacks, to play Gilas either in Manila or NZ.  When they heard that Gilas had plans on coming to NZ, they finally agreed to play Gilas on the 18^th of July.

With that, I had five games scheduled for Gilas on the 12^th, 13^th 14^th, 16^th and the 18^th.  There was one more day that needed to be filled up, the 17^th.  As Gilas would be in Auckland anyway to play the Tall Blacks, I decided to target the Auckland-based Super City Rangers.  While the Rangers was a weak team, they played in the city (Auckland) where with the largest Filipino population. From a crowd-draw perspective, the attraction to play Gilas was an easy decision for the Rangers

With the six games confirmed against quality teams, Gilas had the necessary games to replace the games that they would have played in the Jones Cup in Taipei.  What followed was planning and coordinating for all the logistics (transportation, accommodations, venue hire) required by the team for their NZ training camp.  Chot then assigned me as the NZ camp/tour coordinator to also arrange for all of these. 

Mental toughness

The Saints who were heavy favourites to win the finals, was upset and knocked out in the semis.  Nick Mills described the loss openly in the papers in the next day as an embarrassment.  And questioned the teams culture.   I showed the article to Chot Reyes, and said I had concern if the Saints were prepared to play us on the 16^th.  (if they would be mentally prepared).

After the loss to the Sharks in the semis I approached Mr Mills on the possibility of getting Rick Rikert (NBA centre drateee who Chot was really keen to match –up and test Marcus) to play for the NBL select team tomorrow .  The timing couldn’t be worse to have the discussion however as it was after a devastating loss.  At the end of the day my perception of Rick Rickert really went down, as not only did he refuse to play for the Saints on the 16h , or for the Rangers on the 17^th ( he would be in Auckland for the day) but he didnt want to play on the 14^th as well (even if he was already in town and expected to play in the Grand finals) ,  sometimes things like this don’t show up in the court , but it really tells you a lot about players characters,  “Who shows up to play “

When we played the Saints on the 16^th , I really had apprehensions that the Saints not only would have players missing (Rick Rickert) but would not come to play mentally.  But on that day while undermanned they (The Saints) literally outworked the Gilas team. 

The Smartest & Classiest player

Tab mentioned they should edit the video to just watch how Dillion Boucher works of the ball, his picks his miss direction etc. his spacing and cuts to draw defense to him to open others.  

This is one of the 1^st times I’ve seen a player just score 2 points, but a whole team coming away awed at how good and effective he was.  In the huddle during the game Chot turns to Tab, this guy is really smart.  Jason on the bus says grabe .. ang galing nag drop pass , paano nakita yun.   While Larry Fonacier said grabe yung basketball IQ in Dillion.  Before our games in Wellington and Auckland (Dilion was a reinforcement) , I asked Chot if he wanted Dillion Boucher to have a word with the team, Chot said the problem is the players don’t even know who he is,  it’s safe to say after the Wellington and Auckland games they do now.  After the Auckland game Larry approached me if I could get a pic with Dillion and him.   They say the Auckland game could be Dillion last competitive game, I just have to hand it to him , what a class act, this guy had no obligation to play for either  Wellington or much more the Rangers,  yet he did .  He basically saved my ass from turning those 2 games into laughers. (BTW of the many players I approached, imports included it was only Dilion who agreed to play as a reinforcement for the Rangers)

Here is an interview with Dillion by FIBA

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/colu/p/newsid/55496/arti.html

The Spurs - the type of game we should emulate

I never really agreed with the notion that the Spurs are a boring team, especially the Big 3 version of the Spurs (Timmy, Tony and Manu)  of the last 5 years.  Watch this video highlights of this year’s playoffs, courtesy of “John Rambo” -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kH1mc6esaV0

If you don’t find that brand of basketball especially the passing  and flawless execution as exciting you’re not really a basketball lifer. Yeah there are only few highlight dunks , but you’ve got to appreciate the beauty of complete mastery of team play over individual highlights.

I know a lot of Filipino fans associate Miami Heat “small ball” with the Philippines , but actually when you really think about it , based on the type of talent we have available, small and crafty guards (ala Parker and Manu) a high IQ big man (Duncan) the team that actually resembles the Philippines more in terms of type of talent is not Miami but the Spurs.  The Spurs are actually no bigger in the NBA context than Gilas is with the FIBA Asia context (with Marcus, Fajardo and Jap) , this notion that our bigs are short is actually no longer true and is a thing of the past (pre Doulthit or Gilas years). What we actually don’t have is athletic and powerful wings or Guards with size like Lebron, Wade’s or the El Khattib’s or Douglas of FIBA Asia.  So really personnel wise actually we are really dissimilar to Miami.   If we actually want to capitalise on our strengths the Spurs flawless passing and execution and smart team defence is actually what we should emulate.