AFTER the Gilas Pilipinas letdown in the Asian Games, Barangay Ginebra board governor Alfrancis Chua is encouraging basketball stakeholders from all levels to have a "meeting of minds" as they throw their full support behind the soon-to-be-revamped national squad.
Chua shared his sentiment on the Gilas squad, just a week after Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Manny V. Pangilinan ordered the creation of a search and selection committee that will be tasked to name the Gilas coach and a pool of players.
The outspoken Ginebra official forming the national squad is a tall order due to the high expectations from basketball-crazy fans and the wide range of choices of players available for the coach.
“It’s (Gilas coaching) a very hard job. Why? We’ve got talented Filipinos from 12 teams in the PBA and you have to pick the best,” Chua shared to media men during Friday’s Online Media group sports forum at the Country Spice along Sgt. Esguerra, Quezon City.
But the pony-tailed former-coach-turned-governor also believes Gilas will be in a better position to achieve success if the best coaching minds from the PBA, the team owners, board of governors and even collegiate coaches would start working together for one common goal.
“For me, the best way is magkaroon tayo ng pool of coaches, the governors of the PBA, the owners, managers, mag-exchange ideas, mag-brainstorm, kung sino puwede ilagay (na players), para wala tayong sisihan,” he said.
“Let’s share it to the guys who know basketball.”
Chua also reiterated the importance of getting the college players and coaches involved in the Gilas process, citing their familiarity in the zone defense, a key ingredient in Fiba international play.
“Better that we involve everyone. By coordinating with amateur schools, and by gathering the best players in the UAAP and NCAA combined, puwede tayong maglagay ng isang coach to train them for two months. Why? They know the (Fiba) rules,” added Chua, who was the last coach to steer Ginebra to a PBA Finals during last year’s Commissioner’s Cup.
Collegiate stars from the UAAP and the NCAA have been picking up the cudgels in representing the country in the Southeast Asian level. And so far, the Philippines have reigned supreme in the SEA Games basketball level since the 1991 edition in Manila.
The SBP’s search and screening committee will be meeting for the first time next Tuesday to set the parameters and criteria in its bid to come up with a short list of coaching candidates for Gilas.
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