The case for Tab Baldwin as Gilas coach

When I first learned that Thomas Anthony Baldwin, better known as Tab, was coming to Manila after the FIBA World Cup in Spain, I knew he was being considered to handle the Gilas program in the future. It would not be right for a coach of his caliber to just sit as a consultant of a professional team in Asia, even if it’s a PBA team. But what I didn’t expect was that the opportunity to coach the Philippine National men’s basketball team would come this soon.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas recently announced that the choices for the next National coach were down to two. According to some sources, the two remaining candidates were Baldwin and Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico, who are both under the MVP group.  MVP or Manny V. Pangilinan, of course, is the president of the SBP. With all due respect to Uichico, who is a PBA champion coach and former Gilas deputy, Baldwin clearly becomes the better choice.

In many ways, Baldwin is like former Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman. Both are highly respected in international basketball with their outstanding technical knowledge of the sport. And both have become proven winners in FIBA competitions. But the big difference lies in their coaching style. While Toroman is the intimidating type, which is typical of many European coaches, Baldwin is surely more charismatic. Toroman started the Gilas program in 2009 and made a competitive unit out of a select team of collegiate stars in a span of three years. His last tournament was the FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, where Gilas finished fourth. Toroman’s style was perfect for Gilas 1 because the young cagers, who were fresh from college, needed a mentor like him who emphasized discipline and the need to learn international play. Baldwin, I think, would be more suited with handling more mature players, especially PBA stars whom I suppose would form most of Gilas 3.

It may seem inevitable at this point that SBP and MVP will have to name Baldwin as the next Gilas coach very soon.

But for good measure, here are more reasons why Baldwin should get the SBP’s nod:

1. International Experience and Credentials
There should be no debate that when it comes to credentials, especially in international competitions, no coach in the Philippines can hold a candle to Baldwin. The 56-year old American-New Zealander has been coaching for over 30 years, almost half of which in FIBA competitions. Even if we combine the international experiences of all our great local coaches including Tim Cone, Chot Reyes, Norman Black, Jong Uichico, Yeng Guiao and Robert Jaworski, it would still not equal the amount of time spent by Baldwin coaching against some of the best players in the world.

Without a doubt, his biggest achievement as a basketball coach was when he led the New Zealand national men’s squad to a fourth place finish in the 2012 FIBA World Championship in the USA. This was to be the highest place in the basketball world cup ever attained by an Oceania country, including the great Australia. The Tall Blacks had wins over Russia and Venezuela in the classification round before upending Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals, 65-63, to barge into the semis. But in the semis, New Zealand bowed to eventual titlist Yugoslavia, 78-89.  It also lost to Germany in the battle for third spot, 94-117.

Baldwin remains the winningest coach in the history of New Zealand’s NBL, the equivalent of the PBA here. That would make him the Tim Cone of New Zealand.

Baldwin also coached three other Asian national teams – Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia.  He led Lebanon to the FIBA Stankovic Cup crown in 2010, and Jordan to a bridesmaid finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in China. He also mentored club teams in Turkey, Greece and Romania.

2. Full-time National Coach
Baldwin is in town to help the Talk N’ Text Tropang Texters’ campaign in the ongoing PBA conference as consultant. But as far as I know, he does not have any other commitments elsewhere. If appointed national coach, Tab can focus solely on the Gilas program, at least until 2019. The transition should be easy as he is under the MVP Group anyway. Having a full-time coach is a must for Gilas because the task is certainly daunting. Next year’s Asian championship will be the qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But only the eventual Asian champion will advance.

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3. Continuity of the Gilas Program
Let’s give credit where credit is due. The Chot Reyes-led Gilas program brought the Philippines back to the basketball world map after nearly four decades. And Baldwin played a huge part in this program as Reyes’ consultant. He first entered the picture by setting up the team’s training camp in New Zealand. As Reyes recognized the value of Baldwin especially in scouting other Asian teams, he invited the veteran coach to be part of his staff for the Asian championship in Manila. Being part of the team in three major international events – 2014 FIBA Asia Championship, 2015 FIBA World Cup and 2015 Asian Games – familiarized Baldwin with the ins and outs of the Gilas program. With Baldwin at the helm of the program, Gilas won’t have to start from scratch. And more importantly, should the Gilas 2 batch of players be invited back for another tour of duty, they are already familiar with Baldwin, and vice versa.

Chot’s dribble-drive offense had also received raves from both local and international coaches as being suited for the Gilas Pilipinas squad. Should the offensive system be kept, Baldwin is also very much well versed in it.

4. Familiarity with and appreciation of Philippine basketball
Even before Gilas wowed the rest of the world in the recent FIBA World Cup, Baldwin already recognized how Filipinos have a special brand of playing the game. He thinks the game is played here in a unique but interesting manner. He surely acknowledges the high level of skills many Pinoys have. And so, despite being a foreign coach, Baldwin is already accustomed with the Filipino way of playing as well as its strengths and weaknesses. He knows which parts to keep, improve or change. This way, he won’t have to force our players to swallow a new philosophy. He just needs to work with the style that they’re used to and perhaps tweak it a bit to make the team competitive internationally.

One offense that Baldwin knows too well is the Triangle Offense, which became popular here in the Philippines during the late 90’s. He used this system with Lebanon and Jordan.  Whatever system he intends to use for Gilas, I’m sure it will fit well.

5. Relationship with Fil-Ams and Naturalized Players
Since the new Gilas team will probably have a number of Fil-Ams plus a naturalized player, being an American coach is advantageous for Baldwin. The player-coach relationship should be easier to develop as the coach shares the same culture as some of the key players. Having a strong rapport with the naturalized player is undoubtedly crucial to Gilas’ campaign. A European coach would probably need more time and effort to adjust to the Filipino and American culture and behavior.

There should be no doubt that Baldwin is the perfect man for the job. With him at the helm, there is new hope for Philippine basketball to get back its old glory. But even Baldwin is no miracle worker. He will need the support of the entire basketball community to get the job done. He must be given a free hand to run the program, select the players and staff, and plot the training plans. Moreover, the PBA must be willing to adjust its calendar to allow Gilas to have more preparation time for the important competitions. Prior to the big tourneys, Gilas must have at least a full four months together to train and play games outside the country.

It would really surprise me if the SBP picks any other candidate than Baldwin.

Follow the author on Twitter: @CoachJudeRoque