Dreaming of a Grand Prix

Recent Manila visitor Lindsay Gaze said he’s all for establishing a Grand Prix of basketball every year to involve Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea and the Philippines.

Gaze, the long-time Melbourne Tigers coach, qualified that his idea isn’t to create an Asian pro league. He said plans to set up a regional circuit never got off the ground because national or local leagues are threatened by competition.

"I’m thinking of a mini-tournament where countries alternate as hosts," he mused. "Playing against the same teams in the same league keeps you from getting sharp. This will provide the international exposure that national teams want so they can improve. Of course, a major concern is the economics of operating the tournament. If we get interest from TV–maybe, cable operators–and support from advertisers, we could make it work."

Gaze said the Tigers’ trip to Manila was mutually beneficial. "We’re just starting our training for the next NBL season so it was a good beginning for us," he said. "I hope it was as useful for the Philippine team. We came as guests and our priority was to help out in any way we could."

The night before Game 2, Gaze spent over three hours talking basketball with Philippine coach Joseph Uichico and his assistants Allan Caidic and Eric Altamirano at the Manila Galleria Suites coffee shop. The group broke up past midnight. Gaze said he could’ve gone on because "I hardly sleep anyway."

Uichico, Caidic and Altamirano said they learned a lot from Gaze–both on and off the court. Uichico shared his views about adjusting to the international style. Caidic asked what is the formula in Australia to develop pure shooters like Andrew Gaze, Eddie Palubinskas, and Ian Davies–all high-scoring Olympians. Altamirano wondered how Gaze would attack a switching defense where the offensive player is outsized either way. Gaze enthusiastically answered their questions.

Gaze said in Yugoslavia, potential national players are made to practice six hours a day starting from when they’re 16. "All fundamentals, very boring, but that’s the only way," he noted. "When Yugoslavia broke up into Slovenia, Croatia and Yugoslavia, they were still good. With the Tigers, we practice every day except Wednesday during the season from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and play on weekends. Sometimes, these are games scheduled on Wednesdays. We try to leave the afternoon free for players to pursue a parallel career–in business or if they want to finish their studies in school. It’s all about discipline, character, and attitude."

Gaze, 65, said he’s not ready to retire as a coach. Neither is his son Andrew, 37, ready to hang up his sneakers. "I’m still enjoying the game," he said. I’m having fun I still like the challenge of the competition.

Gaze said he’s been coaching since starting to play hoops when he was 18. He doesn’t get paid to coach the Tigers so strictly speaking, he’s an amateur. "I don’t rely on coaching for a living," he said. " I am employed by the State of Victoria to administer basketball at all levels–juniors, seniors, women."

Basketball isn’t too popular in Australia and Gaze singled out former Minnesota Timberwolves guard Shane Heal as the highest-paid player, earning the equivalent of P500,000 a month. His son is like him in that he doesn’t really care too much for money.

"Andrew’s probably the lowest paid among the top players," he said. "Will he get into coaching? I don’t know. He’s not thinking of it because he’s still playing. He’s very friendly and I see him getting more and more involved in marketing."

Gaze said in 1960, Australian basketball was several years behind the Philippines. But now, it’s become a world power with the capability of forming three to four national squads of equal strength.

Gaze, who played in three Olympics, said the Tigers trace their roots to the Church of England club in 1931 when YMCA, the Army, and the Presbyterian Church joined in forming the Victoria State association. He’s been the only Tigers coach in history.

Gaze said he doesn’t mind revealing his coaching secrets. "I’ve written books on coaching," he mentioned. "If a coach beats me using an improved version of my tactics, it’s okay. It’s a learning experience and next time, I’ll be better. In the NBA last season, the coaching was at its best. I’d never seen coaching play such an important role in the NBA before. Without defensive restrictions, you see a lot of teams like Sacramento and New Jersey play the same kind of structured offense–based on motion–like we do."

Gaze pointed to former Portland Trail Blazers executive Stu Inman as a big influence in his career. Through the years, he has corresponded and conferred with coaching icons such as John Wooden, Bobby Knight, Dale Brown, Lute Olson, and Paul Westhead–learning from them and enjoying their camaraderie.

Gaze said he’s looking forward to returning to the Philippines and seeing more of the sights as a tourist. In previous trips with the national team, he recalled playing in Baguio City.

"I told the guys to do something cultural when we arrived, like go to a museum or see some sights," he said. "Someone suggested going to this resort with the beautiful waterfalls but it was like three hours away. Maybe, next time."

One final thing that Gaze said. "Expectations match the results," he stressed. "If the fans think your team is doomed to failure, it will fail. But if you think the team will do well, it will. If you think the team will win the gold in Busan, it will or at least come close to it. That’s based on my experience."

Gaze said the Philippine team improved tremendously from its first game against the Tigers to the second. "They’re learning and they’re adjusting," he said. "The talent is there. They’ve got a month more to sharpen up."

Uichico said the Fighting 15 were invited to play more tune-up games against Chinese-Taipei in Taiwan but will probably decline the offer. The Philippine team will learn nothing more from the Taiwanese "boys," six of whom are teenaged high schoolers. Gaze suggested assembling the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) imports into a practice team to scrimmage Uichico’s squad.

"In Australia, the imports like that–there’s no pressure and they play freely," said Gaze. "The important thing is the national team continues to get sharp for the Asian Games."