Basketball program reform sought

Lipa said the SBP has to revisit its program if we want to have a better showing in 2023. #Philippinebasketball

Joseller Guiao, coach of the Philippines, reacts during the Basketball World Cup Group D game between Serbia and Philippines in Foshan on 2 September 2019. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu / AFP)

It’s time to review the basketball program of the country.

This was the suggestion of seasoned mentor Joe Lipa to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) as Gilas Pilipinas concluded its disappointing campaign in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

The Philippines is playing Iran at press time and the way the Filipino dribblers were performing in the prestigious 32-nation tournament, the country might go home winless, casting doubts on the national program.

“I think we need to have a meeting of the minds among basketball coaches. I said this before to SBP to invite all national coaches and discuss if we have the right program,” said Lipa, the last coach to lead an all-amateur squad to a gold medal in the Asian Games.

“We have to compare our program to our neighbors. The Southeast Asian are also now tapping American coaches and ask ourselves if the western-kind of basketball is the right program for us,” Lipa added.

The No. 31 ranked Gilas Pilipinas was blown out by Italy (62-108) and Serbia (67-126) in its first two assignments in Group D and was upset by No. 39 Angola, 81-84, in overtime that relegated the country to the classification phase.

The Philippine quintet suffered another blow when the No. 51 Tunisia demolished it, 67-87,that kissed not only its Olympic bid goodbye, but also the chance to surpass the one-win campaign of the 2014 squad of coach Chot Reyes.

Lipa said coach Yeng Guiao should not be blamed for this debacle and even give the team a score of eight out of 10 grade for their effort.

“Yeng gave his best in the tournament. It’s just that we’re not fully prepared for the tournament. We played with a lot of handicap,” Lipa said.

“Overall, we Filipinos improved a lot but the philosophy or brand of play is where we are lagging. In Southeast Asia, we play American brand of basketball and that’s not the case in international play.”

Lipa cited the case of the Italians, who are taller and quicker than Filipinos, but put emphasis on their perimeter game.

“We are shorter but we dribble too much, put the ball inside and dribble again if there’s no shot available. That’s the irony of it. The difference with the Italians and other European countries, they shoot with so much confidence,” Lipa said.

Good thing for Gilas, the country will be hosting the next edition of the 2023 World Cup that means automatic qualification in the tournament.

And Lipa said the SBP has to revisit its program if we want to have a better showing in 2023.

Gilas Pilipinas returns today carrying valuable lessons from the World Cup.

And one thing the team learned is the value of preparation.

Guaio’s squad was given approximately two weeks to get ready for the tournament as it needed to wait the conclusion of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup.

The PBA, being the major player in the formation of the men’s team, is expected to go back to the drawing board on how they can help Gilas in their campaign in future international tournaments.

“The lessons we learned from this World Cup should be able to be passed onto the other teams. This team did its best but we had our limitations. We learned our lessons and we’ll try to be a better team next time,” Guiao said.

“We need a longer preparation time. We need to get out of Asia and get experience versus teams from the other zones like in Europe or Latin America. Preparing for the World Cup doesn’t just take months, the program needs to be set years earlier.”

Expect SBP president Al Panlilio to call for an assessment meeting among the stakeholders of the federation anytime soon.

The World Cup was Panlilio’s first major international tournament as basketball federation head.