WITH Gilas Pilipinas losing to Indonesia in the finals of the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games, fans were up in arms as a long-running winstreak came to an end.
Much of the social media ire fell on head coach Chot Reyes, who had replaced Tab Baldwin just a few contentious months before.
In the world of Mobile Legends esports, the role of the coach has also come into clearer focus over the past few seasons of the professional league. With the current uproar over Gilas, we thought this would be the perfect time to revisit the tactical approaches of each MLBB mentor and analyze them from a Gilas perspective.
Through the teams they've shepherded into Season 9 of the MPL-PH, each coach has a different style. If given the chance (and sudden hoops IQ) to helm the national basketball team, how would they do it?

Discipline and "Pandamentals" is the Coach Panda way
In my comparison between MPL teams and their sporting counterparts, I said that Coach Brian “Panda” Lim bares some similarities with San Antonio Spurs’ head coach, Gregg Popovich, in valuing discipline, fundamentals, and player development.
And that’s exactly what he’ll bring to the Gilas Pilipinas program.
The recently crowned MPL champion would likely follow Coach Tab’s strategy of tapping the potential of young up-and-coming prospects and mold them into a systematic team obsessed with ball movement. After all, this is exactly what he did over two season with RSG PH.
This will require Coach Panda to have a dominant big man or a hustler who can grab rebounds while surrounding him with deadly shooters from all cylinders, very similar to how Gregg Popovich did it when he won the NBA championship back in 2014.

Hustling and grinding with Coach Pakbet
Omega Esports’ campaign in Season 9 has always been a classic case of hustle, which has earned the team the fitting nickname of Barangay Omega, taking after the basketball team whose mantra has always been "never say die."
While many fans would argue that Duane “Kelra” Pillas was the main guy for Omega, they tend to overlook the scrappy, grit-and-grind behavior from his teammates. The likes of Patrick James “E2MAX” Caidic and Renz Errol “Renzio” Cadua would play the Scottie Thompson role of being the underrated contributor, while Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog would be the surprise option similar to Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee.
If Coach Pakbet would be given the reins of Gilas, chances are that he'd be more focused on a collective defensive and scrappy effort all centered on rebounding and other hustling efforts — perhaps a perfect replay of those #Puso days.

The Zen approach with Coach V
The calm demeanor that Coach Vrendon “V” Lin brings, combined with his focus on playmakers like Ben Seloe “Benthings” Maglaque and Jomarie “Escalera” Delos Santos, would mean that Coach V will most likely emphasize strong point guard play, while asking his players to patiently wait for the right opportunity to score.
It’s possible for Coach V to have a point-forward like Draymond Green or point-center ala Andray Blatche, or he could go for a dual point guard lineup if needed.
Because of his obsession for playmakers, he could also follow Coach Panda's gameplan of relying on ball movement and floor spacers at all costs.
And in case he needs to spice things up, he could switch things up and introduce something to surprise his foes with an isolation play, like how he utilized the likes of Shemaiah "SDZyz" Chu, Mark Genzon "Kramm" Rusiana, and Robee Bryan "Yasuwo" Pormocille.

Coach Yeb’s high-press game
Onic PH’s gameplan has always been centered on pressuring their opponents. In Season 8, they relied on their split pushing and tower destroying antics to rattle their foes. Then in Season 9, they started emphasizing a strong jungle invade strategy to limit the opposition’s resources.
With that in mind, Coach Paul Denver “Yeb” Miranda will definitely incorporate a full court pressing game, similar to how Rick Pitino did it for the Boston Celtics, or Aldin Ayo with the De La Salle Green Archers.
Then when it comes to offense, he'd most likely deploy a version of the Phoenix Suns’ “7 Seconds or Less” Offense to get players to swiftly move the ball forward in transition to score points.
Because of this, Coach Yeb will need high-stamina workhorses and some solid perimeter defenders who will disrupt the opposing team’s momentum.
The downside of this approach? Teams could capitalize on Gilas’ overly aggressive behavior on defense and look for the wide-open man which could lead to easy buckets.

Constant player rotations from Coach Zico
With his nonstop tinkering of player rosters during Season 9, expect Coach John Michael “Zico” Dizon to do the same in a hypothetical stint with Gilas Pilipinas.
Depending on the matchup as well as his scouting report, Coach Zico will assess if he needs to go with a small ball lineup, with a three-guard rotation, or go big.
This means that his big man rotation should be similar to Coach Tab Baldwin’s Kai Sotto, Isaac Go, and Ange Kouame, with Kai serving as a well-rounded big, Go as the floor spacer, and Kouame as your traditional back to the basket center.
And of course, his choice of wing players should involve slashers like Kiefer Ravena and floor spacers like Dwight Ramos and Robert Bolick.

Letting them loose ala Coach Duckeyyy and Arcadia
Both Coaches Francis “Duckeyyy” Glindro and Michael Angelo “Arcadia” Bocado have experienced working with a team consisting of superstars. The former even did it twice: once, with the iconic EVOS Legends squad, and then again with Sibol roster-packed Bren Esports team.
A key theme for both of them is utilizing the strengths of their players. With a player like Carlito “Ribo” Ribo Jr., Coach Duckeyyy would utilize his flexibility in terms of hero pool. Then of course there’s Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno who could be ultimate isolation player ala Luka Doncic or Kobe Bryant.
Overall, both of them would let their players decide on what’s best for the team, similar to how Phil Jackson did it with the LA Lakers under Kobe and Shaq. Indeed, the Lakers were under the triangle offense, but Phil would encourage his players to be expressive in their decision making.
The downside of letting players lead, of course, is player egos. But both of these coaches are capable of letting their players be themselves while stepping in when needed.

When UBE transforms into the triangle offense
Speaking of Phil Jackson's triangle offense, we think that's exactly what Coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza would use in an imaginary run with Gilas.
This strategy requires a high level of critical thinking and decision making, as players would have to use triangles and decipher the defensive positioning of the opposition. He’ll definitely need a player who thinks like Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna, or, say, a Jimmy "Mighty Mouse" Alapag, who both have the uncanny ability to dissect their foes with their shotcalling.
And further to complement their skills, the triangle needs players who could space the floor while making the best decision in generating their offense. Laid out on paper, that's exactly how the ‘UBE’ strat works... and BON CHAN is already a master.
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