Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan apologized on Tuesday to the basketball-loving Filipinos following the debacle suffered by Gilas Pilipinas in the recently-concluded FIBA World Cup in China.
“I think that ang masasabi ko lang we really expressed our apology to the Filipinos. It’s our duty to apologize,” said Pangilinan in a press briefing held at the Manila Life Café of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
“Pero tapos na yun eh (But that’s over). Let’s do better,” added Pangilinan who was accompanied by SBP President Al Panlilio, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios and former Philippine Olympic Committee chief Ricky Vargas.
Pangilinan brought with them the official FIBA flag as the next host of World Cup in 2023.
The national team, headed by coach Yeng Guiao, failed to win a single game in the World Cup as it went 0-3 in the group stage with losses to Italy, Serbia and Angola, before losing to Tunisia and Iran in the consolation round.
That disastrous campaign of the Filipinos, who finished at the bottom 32nd, led to the resignation of Guiao as coach and head of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national team program.
Now, even if the next World Cup is in four years, which the country is co-staging with Indonesia and Japan, Pangilinan said the SBP should prepare the national team as early as possible so as not to repeat the nightmarish showing.
“Well we should develop a team as early as now. Just because we’re included as host, we should not prepare. There’s a tendency na kapag kasali na (you’re already included), we’ll take it easy. Hindi dapat (We can’t), we should take it seriously,” said Pangilinan.
MORE PRESSURE
“It’s more pressure on us because we’re playing before our countrymen,” added Pangilinan.
Panlilio said that a post-FIBA World Cup assessment would be made with top officials of the association in the coming days, and part of the agenda is naming of the new coach, especially that the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which the country is hosting, is just two months away.
“Give us a few days. We’ll talk about it when we convene and discuss,” said Panlilio, adding that – without elaborating – there is a possibility to tap a foreign coach who has experience in European basketball.
Pangilinan said that the style of play should be more of European, and not American or NBA style of play that most Filipinos pattern their game.
“Coach Yeng shared to us that 12 of the 16 teams (top 16 finishers) came from Europe, (and) four teams from the Americas,” said Pangilinan. “The fact is that why can’t we learn more from Europe?”
“Our basketball really is oriented with the NBA. Pero nakakaligtaan natin yung husay ng European basketball (But we’re forgetting how good European basketball is),” added Pangilinan.
Nevertheless, he said that playing in the FIBA World Cup, and hosting it in 2023 is something to be proud of, citing the improvement of the national team from No. 64 in the world ranking when the SBP was formed in 2007, to its current ranking of 31st in FIBA.
COACHES FOR SEAG
Meantime, the 24-man team of Gilas Pilipinas for the SEA Games will be reviewed and that the final 12 is up to the new coach.
While the SBP is mum on candidates to replace Guiao, former national team American coaches Tab Baldwin of Ateneo Blue Eagles and Tim Cone of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, as well as Jong Uichico are constantly being mentioned as possible replacement. (Waylon Galvez)
