MANILA, Philippines — Imbes na parusahan ay dapat pang igalang ang opinyon ni three-time UAAP champion coach Tab Baldwin.
Sa kanyang tweet ay sinabi ni Sen. Richard Gordon na hindi dapat pinatawan ng Philippine Basketball Association si Baldwin ng three-game suspension at multang P75,000 dahil sa kanyang komento sa format ng liga at ang pagiging ‘tactically immature’ ng mga Pinoy coaches.
“The PBA’s recent decision to suspend Tab Baldwin and fine him for his comments about the league, its officiating and the country’s local coaches is uncalled for,” ani Gordon.
“The association should have looked at the message and not shot the messenger. You may not agree with him but you don’t penalize him,” dagdag pa ng 74-anyos na Senador.
Sa isang podcast ay sinabi ni Baldwin na dapat magpalaro ang PBA ng dalawa hanggang tatlong imports bawat komperensya na hindi naman sinang-ayunan ng ilang PBA top officials.
Kinondena rin ng Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP) ang panunuya ng 62-anyos na American-New Zelander sa kakayahan ng mga local coaches.
Ngunit iba ang pagtingin ni Gordon, isang Ateneo alumnus at naging miyembro ng Blue Babble Batallion.
“Coach Tab comes with good credentials, having coached two national teams in FIBA tournaments,” ani Gordon. “In college coaching, he took over an Ateneo team which just lost seven key players to academics and transformed this rag tag team into a second place team in his first year and a champion team in each of the next three years, the last one via an unprecedented sweep”.