Toroman sees comeback

MANILA, Philippines - Former Gilas national basketball team coach Rajko Toroman left Manila for Belgrade last Saturday night unsure of what the future brings and said he will enjoy the Christmas holidays with his family in Serbia before deciding what job to take next in the new year.

It doesn’t look like Toroman, 58, will find it difficult to land a new assignment.  A Beirut team, newly promoted to Division I status, has a pending offer to coach in Lebanon. Qatar and Iran are other possibilities for relocation. But in his heart, Toroman said he’d like to someday return to the Philippines down the road because there’s no other country in the world where basketball is loved with a passion by fans.

Toroman’s contract with Barako Bull in the PBA expires in February but was paid off in full. “I spent five years coaching in the Philippines and I would like to thank everyone for making it possible,” he said.  â€œI will always cherish my experience with Gilas and the PBA. Perhaps, in one, two or three years, I could come back if a team wants me. I’ve made many good Filipino friends. I think we achieved a lot during my term and I only wish we could’ve done more.”

Toroman’s biggest achievement as Gilas coach was towing the team to the semifinals in the FIBA-Asia Championships in 2011, marking the national squad’s first Final Four appearance since 1985-86. That same year, he also brought Gilas to the semifinals of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup. Toroman paved the way for Gilas, under coach Chot Reyes, to make it to the FIBA-Asia finals this year and qualify for a slot in the FIBA World Cup.

In 2007, Toroman delivered the FIBA-Asia title to Iran and earned a qualifying ticket to the Beijing Olympics. Coaching in the Olympics is a highlight in Toroman’s basketball odyssey which includes stops in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Bosnia-Herzogovina, China, Cyprus and Greece. He was an assistant coach with the Yugoslavian national team in 1991-96.

“I saw the future for Gilas when we lost to Mahram of Tehran by three in the Champions Cup semifinals even if they played with two imports and their best Iranian players and we had only one naturalized player in Marcus (Douthit),” he said. “Maybe not too many people realized how good the national team could be at that time. Then came the FIBA-Asia Championships and Gilas showed you don’t need size to win. If you don’t have size, there are many other factors that can make you competitive like character, a system in offense and defense, skill, quickness, heart and teamwork. Remember what happened in the FIBA-Asia semifinals against Korea. Marcus couldn’t play in the second half and we beat Korea with Marc (Pingris) playing five, Ranidel (de Ocampo) playing four, Jeff (Chan) playing three, Jayson (Castro) playing two and Jimmy (Alapag) playing one. Korea thought that without a big lineup, we wouldn’t be able to compete against their bigs so they abandoned their drive-and-kick plays to go to the post. It worked to our advantage because our small lineup played with a bigger heart. Coach Chot made every Filipino very proud of that accomplishment.”

In the FIBA World Cup next year, Toroman suggested the focus to be on 2015 and qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “Coach Chot has a tough job ahead because I think the team will only be able to train for two weeks before the tournament,” he said. “Two to three months of training for an international competition is usual. But even with the limited training time, I think Gilas will be competitive in Spain. JuneMar (Fajardo) is improving every day. Maybe, coach Chot might consider bringing in players like Marcio (Lassiter), Jvee (Casio) and even (Terrence) Romeo so they get the experience looking forward to the FIBA-Asia Championships in 2015 which will be the Olympic qualifier. The future looks bright for Philippine basketball particularly as JuneMar, Japeth (Aguilar) and Greg (Slaughter) have the size to match up against big players from other countries. I heard Gilas is now looking at prospects for naturalization and there are 7-foot Croatians in the list. This will be for when Marcus retires from Gilas or after the World Cup and the Asian Games.”

  The week before his departure, Toroman was feted by coaches, players and friends. One of the first to text Toroman after news of his leaving broke out was Danny Seigle who played for the Serbian at Barako Bull. Asi Taulava and Tim Cone texted, too. Mick Pennisi phoned to say goodbye. The night before he left, Toroman was treated by his former players Taulava, Chris Tiu, Dylan Ababou, Casio, Douthit and Mark Barroca and his Barako assistant coach Charles Tiu at California Pizza Kitchen in Global City. He previously got together with his Gilas coaching staff of Allan Gregorio, Jude Roque and Oliver Bunyi.

A player whom Toroman singled out for his transformation was Lassiter. “I’m very proud of Marcio,” he said. “He was one of our problematic players with Gilas at the start but as he matured, he became one of our leaders. I’m very happy for Marcio. He plays with a great attitude, is a good family man. I met up with Marcio a few days before leaving. I hope he can play for Gilas again because he understands the international game and can contribute to the national team in a big way.”

As for the PBA, Toroman said the league will continue to get stronger because of the support of the team owners and commissioner Chito Salud’s leadership. “I really enjoyed coaching Barako Bull,” he said. “The Chua family loves basketball and is very committed to improving the team. Rico (Maierhofer) and Jeric (Fortuna) are two young players whom Barako can build on. I’m hoping the team can bring back the Red Bull championship years. The PBA has a lot of young talent like Romeo, (R. R.) Garcia, Greg and Jeric Teng. I remember Teng came to one of our practices and I was impressed with his ability to play within a team system.”

Toroman said he won’t make a decision on his next job until after the holidays. “My grandson (five-year-old Djordje) wants me to take him to a new amusement park in Belgrade and he’s now playing basketball twice a week with a coach who’s a former player,” he said. “I’ll spend time with my family, my wife Tanya, my daughter Sandra and her husband Mladen and my grandson. My mother is ill and I also want to take care of her. In January, I will decide what to do next as a coach.”