FORMER Philippine basketball official Noli Eala hopes that the leadership behind Gilas Pilipinas would stick to a program that they will commit to in long run, whether it will involve the pro or cadet players.
Noli Eala on Gilas
Eala, a former PBA commissioner and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director, said he still strongly believes that a set of players that would compete exclusively for the national team such as the NCC, Smart Gilas, and the Gilas cadets is the way to go in forming a competitive team internationally.
But over the past years, those programs were disrupted and discontinued, with the national team eventually relying on PBA players to form Gilas Pilipinas.
“It’s been decades that it’s a problem na tinatawag nating pool system which is really to me, just a pick-up system. If this is the system that we will be using, ang suggestion ko, let’s commit to it fully,” said Eala during his guesting on SPIN Zoom In last Thursday.
“Talagang full commitment na. Ganito na lang talaga sistema. Wag na lang tayong kumuha na ilalagay pa natin cadet, ilalagay natin sa pool, idadraft pa natin, dalawang taon na nabuburo tapos hindi maglalaro and then aalisin din naman pala sa pool, PBA din ang ilalagay.
“Let’s just choose. Wag na ‘yung marami pang hybrid models. It’s either we commit fully to a long-term or we fully commit to a pool system or pick-up system. Hindi pupuwede ‘yung hilaw, because in the end, walang accountability,” Eala added.
Eala, though, said he still prefers a long-term program similar to the most recent one handled by Tab Baldwin where Gilas made strides in Asia and even in the world through its participation in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
But he was saddened with how the program went south that led to members of the Gilas pool going to the PBA and Baldwin being replaced by Chot Reyes for the tournaments in the lead-up to the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
“Nung nakita ko ‘yung programa na ginawa nila last year even during the pandemic, and how well the young cadets played, talagang na-excite ako. I was genuinely happy for the program. I was in fact messaging the SBP leadership and really very happy that we finally started a program na aligned kung saan ginawa namin back then. But of course, things happen. Hindi ko pa rin maintindihan kung anong nangyari with coach Tab and now we have coach Chot at the helm,” said Eala, who was actually one of the persons behind the Smart Gilas national team program.
“He has a very good vision,” said Eala of Reyes. “Unfortunately, he was given very little time to prove it for this window. And I think that given some time, I think he will do something with the team. Pero hindi ko maikakaila na ang akin pa rin is a long-term program sa Gilas.”
Eala labeled the current system of calling up PBA players for a particular competition as a system similar to USA Basketball, which did bring success to Gilas but is not sustainable.
“I think that the system that we currently have is still in the purview. Nandoon pa rin sa realidad ng pick-up system. I still don’t think that it is the best… When I talk about pick-up system, when you start putting in players, kahit nasa pool sila, they don’t play together. They only play for certain periods of time.”
“That’s still the USA model. I still think that we’ve been doing this for so long, okay pumasok tayo sa World Cup and we are very happy about that, but it still not produced the results that we want consistently. As far as I’m concerned, I think a long-term program should be in place,” said Eala.
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