IF YOU WISH TO WRECK A PROJECT DO IT BY COMMITTEE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 31 Oct 2014
We cannot understand the apparent desire of the 12 PBA teams to choose the next head coach of the Philippine National Team as well as the composition of the squad, as announced by Commissioner Chito Salud.
In a statement attributed to Salud and released by PBA Media Bureau Chief Willie Marcial, it said ?The SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) has approved the creation of a committee tasked to select the head coach of the national team and players from the PBA that would form the national pool.?
This selection by committee will reportedly cover the teams that would compete in tournaments where the services of PBA players will be tapped which would include the FIBA Asia Qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, the Asian Games and the World Cup.
One of the fundamental strengths of a sports program, especially in team sports such as basketball is continuity.
From our point of view, the Gilas Pilipinas team that played in the World Cup in Spain and did us proud and the Asian Games where a number of circumstances conspired against us, is still intact and only on a break since the PBA season is on.
Similarly, the coaching staff headed by Chot Reyes is also what we might consider on a break although we are certain Chot and his assistants are closely following the performance of the Gilas Pilipinas players and others who are obviously candidates for a spot in the national pool from which the final selection would be made.
It would be interesting to find out from Commissioner Salud who will comprise the committee, particularly from the PBA.
Surely they cannot be thinking of the governors whose knowledge of basketball at the highly competitive international level is far from adequate to choose the coach and the players.
We?ve consistently advocated that the coach should be given a free hand to select the players he believes would best fit our requirements with the responsibility of the PBA teams to make these players available. Period!
A look at the rigodon of coaches while providing us a clue as to team ownership and a classic example of confusion, only serves to strengthen our stand on continuity.
Chot Reyes achieved, with limited access to players he wanted, resounding success in real terms by winning the Philippines the right to compete with 23 of the finest teams in the world, in the World Cup, after 40 years!
If the PBA Board fails to recognize this, then the only conclusion is that personal, selfish motives have surfaced or that they don?t have a clue about the demands of coaching and more than that they regrettably fail to credit Chot for an inspiring achievement.
Time is of the essence since the Olympic Games qualifier will be in China this August with all the inherent disadvantages.
For the World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas trained fo 45 days and if the PBA board members think this is long enough they are sadly mistaken.
The speculation that Chot Reyes may no longer be the head coach even though former national coaches whose names were suggested as replacements after our Asian Games stint ? Tim Cone and Yeng Guiao - repeatedly stated that Reyes is the best man for the job ? then something is terribly wrong and regrettably a couple of colleagues may be party to the campaign by some misguided individuals to replace the coach who has done so much alongside the tremendous efforts of benefactor extraordinaire Manny Pangilinan, to redeem our self-respect in international basketball .
Salud?s statement that they are not ending the Gilas program but are trying to make it better needs concrete manifestations of how this is to be done and certainly the formation of a Selection Committee to choose a head coach for the Gilas National Team is not the right way to start off.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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