Back to PBA for national coach

CHANGSHA – For Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin, it’s back to the salt mines in the PBA where he will reprise his role as Talk ‘N’ Text consultant when the season begins on Oct. 18. But he’ll take a short break before rejoining the Texters.

Baldwin is scheduled to leave with his wife Efi for Greece today to attend his sister-in-law’s wedding. After a week, he’ll head back to Manila and restart work in the PBA. The consolation is Talk ‘N’ Text will make its season debut on Oct. 23.

“We’re looking forward to a great season,” said Baldwin. “We gave up a lot to get the top two draft picks (Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario). From Gilas, we’ve got Ranidel (de Ocampo), Jayson (Castro) and Matt (Ganuelas). I’m happy to work with our head coach Jong (Uichico) and the coaching staff. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. But the team has been practicing well without us.”

Uichico was in Baldwin’s staff for the FIBA Asia Championships which ended here last Saturday. Texters assistant coach Josh Reyes was also in the Gilas staff.

Baldwin said the Olympic qualifying tournament in July next year is Gilas’ next stop. “Will we keep the same lineup?” he mused. “I don’t know. Right now, it’s an open situation. Many things could happen between now and next year. But we’re definitely going to out there to compete. Whether we bid to host the tournament or not isn’t my call. Of course, it would be an advantage to play at home. I also don’t know about Jordan Clarkson’s situation. If he plays with us in the Olympic qualifier, he would certainly help. I’m not involved in talks with Jordan so I can’t really comment on that possibility.”

Baldwin said playing China for the FIBA Asia gold medal and a ticket to the Rio Olympics was under difficult conditions. “We lost to a better team,” he said. “We had a well-thought-out game plan. We held China to 38 percent field goal shooting and that was quite an achievement by the guys. Our problem was we couldn’t make shots. We had our chances.” Gilas sprinted to a 5-0 lead then China took control to win, 78-67.

As if battling China’s size wasn’t hard enough, Baldwin said it was also tough contending with the referees’ calls. “We got warned for flopping but the Chinese players were flopping all over the place,” he said. “Asi (Taulava) got a technical but maybe, that was meant for me. Sometimes, the referees don’t want to give a coach a technical too early because they might need one late in the game. Gabe (Norwood) got hit in the face at least thrice and there were no calls. Once, Gabe got hit and let go of the ball. The referee was right in front of Gabe. The ball went out of bounds and China was given the possession. It’s not like I’m questioning the ability of the referees. They’re probably as skilled and knowledgeable as other referees anywhere in the world. But it’s their attitude, how they manage the game.”

Baldwin said he would’ve liked Andray Blatche to be in better physical condition. “I think Dray was like 60 percent of his capacity,” he said. “Imagine how he would’ve played at 100 percent capacity. As it was, Dray played solid and won games for us. He’s a great guy and a good player. We’re glad he’s on our side.”

Another player whom Baldwin said could’ve contributed even more was De Ocampo. “Ranidel is coming off an injury and started practice with us late,” he said. “Ranidel is a deadshot from outside. He’s just starting to get his rhythm back after his layoff because of injury. We could’ve used his three-point shooting against China.”

De Ocampo hit 2-of-9 field goals, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, in the final. Blatche finished with 17 points on 6-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-5 triples, and 4-of-5 free throws in 27:05 minutes. No other Gilas player was in double figures. Castro, named to the Mythical Five at point guard, scored eight points n 3-of-14 from the field, including 1-of-3 triples and 1-of-2 free throws.

The Philippines employed a 2-3 zone defense that took away China’s post position. That forced Chinese coach Gong Luming’s hand to rely on perimeter sniping and the hometown squad responded by knocking down 9-of-24 triples.

Before the final, China’s lowest field goal percentage in a game was 40 percent in beating Korea, 76-73. For the tournament, China shot 48.8 percent from the field. Gilas held MVP Yi Jianlian to 11 points on 4-of-14 field goals. Gilas’ defense clicked but its offense didn’t. Gilas struggled with only 35 percent field goal accuracy and missed 11 free throws, including two from technicals. Coincidentally, China’s margin of victory was 11 points, matching what Gilas blew from the line.

“China’s size was our biggest problem,” said Gilas team manager Butch Antonio. “They made us change our shots when we penetrated. Jayson’s floater wasn’t the same against the Chinese bigs.”

Gilas forward Marc Pingris said China’s ceiling was imposing but he wasn’t impressed by their bulk. He defended Yi at the post and pushed him out of his comfort zone. “They’re just tall but they can be pushed out of position,” said Pingris. “They’re not strong. I have a more difficult time pushing JuneMar (Fajardo) out of position.”