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    Tab Baldwin raves about Gilas cadets' talent, unselfishness

    What Gilas cadets lack in chemistry, they more than made up for in willingness to play as a team, says Baldwin
    Dec 3, 2020
    PHOTO: Fiba.basketball

    CHEMISTRY could still be better, but the unselfishness and the sheer talent of the cadets worked wonders for Gilas Pilipinas in the second window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Manama.

    Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) program director Tab Baldwin said it was evident to him that the youthful national team still has ways to go when it comes to running the system he and head coach Jong Uichico put in place.

    "If I had to grade the execution of the system we gave the players, we were only about three or four," he told Coaches Unfiltered.

    But Baldwin couldn't emphasize enough how talented the 15-man pool was, lauding the teamwork they exuded in Bahrain that allowed them to sweep their two-game series against Thailand.

    "The talent of the players and their wllingness to submit to one another made up hugely on that. That willingness of the players to look for one another across the board compensates for what you don't have in chemistry and cohesion," he said.

    Gilas' unfamiliarity with each other still showed as it turned the ball over at an average of 11 times through the two games against the Thais, but it did a better job sharing the rock, dishing out 25.0 assists which allowed it to shoot 47-percent from the field, as well as 41-percent from beyond the arc.

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    That wealth of talent made the process of choosing the Final 12 all the more harder for the coaches, Baldwin said.

    "That's always a difficult thing and it's one of the heartbreaking jobs in coaching: when you have a pool of players and some of them won't make the cut. Fortunately, we didn't see great disparity within any of them. Leaving anybody out is unfair, but you have to choose 12," he said.

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    Baldwin said the rationale behind the roster selections hinged on Gilas' need to have more capable players in the frontline first and foremost.

    "Kind of what guided our decision is that we didn't have depth in the frontline. So guys like George (Go), Justine (Baltazar), and Kemark (Carino), and even Kobe (Paras) who we played in a forward position. Those guys are gonna get automatic selection just because we needed size," he said.

    Baldwin also explained the decision to sit out NCAA Season 95 MVP Calvin Oftana in the first game against Thailand, saying that the San Beda forward's passport issues beset his preparations even before the team flew to Manama.

    "When we had our camp in Laguna, Calvin was one of the players who had to get his passport renewed and he wasn't allowed to go back in the bubble. His preparation time was cut by several days," he said.

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    "Him not playing in the first game is a reflection of that, but even if we had played him, we'll have to leave another deserving player out. He needed a bit more time to catch up on what he missed in Laguna."

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      Oftana impressed in the second game against the Thais with his nine points, four rebounds, and four assists in the Philippines' 93-69 win last Monday.

      Still, Baldwin couldn't emphasize enough how happy the SBP was with the players' showing, saying, "Every player we invited earned the opportunity. We didn't sit there saying this guy deserves it."

      "They all deserve it, just like everyone deserved to be selected because of their performances."

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      PHOTO: Fiba.basketball
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