Gilas coaching staff to be named ‘very soon,’ says Alapag

MANILA, Philippines — The national men’s basketball team will have a full coaching staff “very soon,” according to Gilas assistant coach Jimmy Alapag. 

In a meeting last Friday, February 6 together with head coach Tab Baldwin and the country’s basketball federation Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), a rough timeline has been laid out for Gilas’ path to the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in China, where they are gunning for nothing less than the gold medal and the accompanying lone ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

“Preparation will begin right after the third conference but the players will be given a short break first,” Alapag explained of the general plan to Rappler. 

“Coach Tab is looking at training camp possibly in Europe in August, then back in the Asian region/Manila for possible pocket tournaments in September before the FIBA Asia tournament. The rest of the coaching staff for Coach Tab will also be named very soon.”

The PBA has adjusted its season schedule by shortening conference formats to give the national team ample time to prepare for major international tournaments such as this year’s FIBA Asia. 

The PBA season will end as early as the third week of July, which gives Gilas about 9-10 weeks to train leading up to FIBA Asia, which is from September 23 to October 3.

Gilas will also have the option of joining the William Jones Cup, which will be some time around August 29.

Tab Baldwin, who was named head coach last December, continues to scout for potential players, watching PBA games closely as Talk ‘N Text’s consultant. 

The experienced national team coach who also served as consultant to Gilas since 2013, previously expressed his primary goal for Gilas is to play in the Olympics. – Rappler.com