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