#GilasIssues: Part 2 – It’s Not The Coach

Off with his head.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much backlash result from such an unfortunate confluence of events involving Gilas Pilipinas.

After steering Gilas to a disappointing finish in the 2014 Asian Games, seemingly shaming naturalized player Marcus Douthit in public after losing to Qatar, and engineering an unprecedented own-goal attempt against the Kazakhs, coach Chot Reyes came under fire from all angles.

Many wanted him out of Gilas as soon as possible.

Some considered him no more than a disgrace to Philippine basketball.

Everybody wanted, at the very least, an explanation.

Practically nobody was left in his corner, except those who were actually, literally, with him in Incheon, South Korea.

“It’s unfair criticism. Obviously, the result here in Korea wasn’t what we had planned. We were hopeful to compete for the gold medal. But again a lot of unexpected things happened, from Andray’s eligibility issue, to having Marcus back after pretty much two to three months layoff, and on top of that the injuries, but then again, it’s not an excuse. The guys continued to fight, gave everything they had but for this particular tournament, it wasn’t enough,” said Jimmy Alapag in one interview.

Even Marcus Douthit himself said that there were no hard feelings, while team patron and SBP head Manny V. Pangilinan continued to express support for the embattled Gilas coach.

At the end of the day, however, can we say, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that coach Chot was, indeed, the one mostly to blame for Gilas’s spiraling into its worst Asiad finish ever?

Players Win, Coaches Lose

One truth in team sports is that when teams win games and championships, it’s often the players in the limelight.

Another truth is that, though unfortunate, when teams lose, it’s often the coaches thrown under the bus.

Players bask in the glory. Coaches take the responsibility.

And that, presumably, is the reason a lot of people took it badly when they heard and read about coach Chot calling Douthit out after Gilas’s defeat to Qatar.

It’s not uncommon, of course, for coaches to publicly express their disappointment at their players’ inability to step up or lead their respective clubs to victory (read: Pop and Phil). In coach Chot’s case, however, it came after an unexpected loss, after a slew of collapses in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, after Gilas’s chances took a hit when Andray Blatche was ruled ineligible for the Asiad, after playing their third game in three nights, and under the weight of bloated expectations. In short, amidst all the setbacks and near-misses, it wasn’t the kind of thing that Gilas’s fans were hoping to hear.

But (and this is a BIG but that the Gilas haters might not even consider) does that make coach Chot wrong? Is it enough for the SBP to say, “Off with his head?” Is it a big enough wrench in the Gilas machinery — big enough to destroy all its gains?

I say NO.

Will replacing coach Chot help? Will picking someone who’ll coach in the pros or in college and then moonlight as the Gilas coach work? How about a foreigner who has seen many international tournaments and who practically lives and breathes international hoops?

Before we even attempt to answer those questions, how about a bit of history first?

Coaching Gilas (a li’l bit of history)

 

In 1992, Sonny Jaworski coached the first all-pro Philippine National Team (NT) to the Beijing Asian Games. They lost to China, 125-60, in their fourth game before booking a rematch after a narrow win over Japan, 94-90, in the semifinals. China repeated over the Philippines, 90-74, to win gold. This was the Pinoys’ best finish since winning gold in 1962 (and it still is to this day). Jaworski coached Añejo Rhum prior to his NT duties. The team won five of its seven assignments.

In 1994, Norman Black coached San Miguel Beer in the PBA and the Philippine NT to the Hiroshima Asian Games. He had a core of his SMB players form the team along with on-loan players from other PBA clubs and the top amateurs. They finished fourth behind Japan, South Korea, and China. They had an overall record of 3 wins against 3 losses.

In 1998, Tim Cone coached Alaska in the PBA and the Philippine Centennial Team in the 1998 Jones Cup and Bangkok Asian Games. The Pinoys swept the Jones Cup to emerge champions, but had a much tougher time in the Asiad. They won by just 1 point over Kazakhstan in the preliminaries and were blasted by the Koreans, 103-83, in the quarterfinals. China kept them at bay in the semis, 92-83, before the Pinoys had to scrape past Kazakhstan again to annex the bronze. The Centennial Team won five of its seven games.

In the 2002 Asian Games, Jong Uichico, who was coaching San Miguel in the PBA, took over after incumbent NT coach Ron Jacobs suffered a stroke. Uichico helmed the Philippines to impressive preliminary wins over UAE, North Korea, Japan, and Taiwan before they got plastered by the Chinese, 92-51. The Filipinos looked well on the way to the Finals after being in-control most of way opposite South Korea in semifinals, but a few missed free throws and a Lee Sang-Min buzzer-beater pulled the rug from under the Pinoys. Deflated, Uichico’s wards succumbed to Kazakhstan in the bronze medal game. Their record was 4-3. The Philippine NT would then miss the 2006 joust in Doha, Qatar because of the FIBA suspension.

In the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the Gilas program was already in full swing with bemedalled international coach Rajko Toroman calling the shots. Toroman had mostly amateurs at his disposal here, reinforced only by a few pros like Kelly Williams and Asi Taulava. The Filipinos were never dominant and got eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Koreans, 74-66. Gilas went on to finish in sixth place, its worst at that time. The team’s record was 5-4.

And then there’s this year’s Asiad in Incheon, South Korea, which came on the heels of the country’s return to the world basketball stage in #Spain2014. The team expected to play with BOTH Andray Blatche and Jayson Castro in the Asiad, but the former was disallowed by the Olympic Council of Asia and the latter was saddled with injuries. Practically at the last minute, Gilas had no recourse but to reactivate the 34-year-old Douthit and ask 36-year-old icon Jimmy Alapag to suit up one final time. Gilas started with a win over India and then went on a three-game losing streak (Iran, Qatar, and South Korea) before the infamous win against Kazakhstan. Gilas then lost to China in the classification round before ending with a W over Mongolia to finish a record low seventh. The team’s overall record was 3-4.

So what do these all say?

Despite the revolving door of coaches, many of whom split time with between their PBA duties and NT responsibilities, and players (we have next to no continuity if you scrutinize the rosters), we have never really achieved our desired level of dominance in the Asian Games. Our best finish since PBA players donned the national colors was silver 24 years ago, but we also had our worst shellacking (65 points!!!) in that same tourney. Since then, we’ve won just one bronze and finished outside the top four twice.

This tells me that the problem with our NT is not personnel. It’s systemic. When, despite changes in who’s coaching and who’s playing, our performances continue to break our hearts, perhaps the change should no longer be about what kind of plays we’re running, who’s doing our scouting, who’s taking the last shot, who missed that crucial free throw, or who should be thrown to the fire after the final buzzer.

A BIG Change

Perhaps the change should be bigger than the team, its coaches, and its players.

Perhaps the change should be in Philippine basketball itself.

Perhaps we should drastically change the way we do basketball in our country.

In the next few parts, I’ll break down certain areas that affect “the way we do basketball” in a big way – foreign influence, local talent, our LOOONG calendar, and continuity.

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