Tab Baldwin, international coaches to conduct clinic for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino coaches will have a valuable opportunity to learn from a roster of well-experienced, champion, foreign coaches through the World Hoops Clinic from June 16 to 18 at the Marikina Sports Complex.

The clinic will be headed by coach Tab Baldwin, former Gilas Pilipinas coach and current Ateneo Blue Eagles coach.

Baldwin, who has 36 years of coaching experiences across 10 countries and 4 continents under his belt, said the clinic will have a total of 14 sessions each averaging about 70 minutes for a marathon learning experience of up to 18 hours.

“It’s actually open to anybody who wants to come,” the American-New Zealander coach told Rappler.

“Obviously it’s targeting coaches but there are some very passionate fans here and if they think that it’s worth their time and money to be exposed to what these coaches are gonna say – and believe me it’s something different than what we’re used to here in the Philippines – then there’s no limit.”

“I think there’s gonna be plenty of room for the young coaches, the experienced coaches, and even the casual observers if they want to come along,” he added.

The clinic costs Php 6,000 all-in for the entire 3 days and those interested may sign up through the online registration form.

So far the clinic has received about 200 inquiries, according to Baldwin, and the hope is many of those lead to registrations. Baldwin did not put a limit on the number of people to attend, saying the Marikina Sports Complex can hold up to 1,500 people. While they don’t expect that many to turn up, he assured there is space for everyone.

A schedule for the 3-day clinic may be found below:

Exposure to European coaching

Baldwin, best known for steering New Zealand to their best finish ever at the FIBA Basketball World Championship, to the semifinals in 2002, will discuss fundamental elements of player development and set play design using basic offensive elements.

Other coaches joining him are the following:

• Natxo Lezkano – A one-time Gilas consultant in 2014, the Spanish Lezkano has 21 years of pro coaching experience having spent many years in the Euroleague and in South America. He also led Ivory Coast to two final 4 finishes in the FIBA Africa Championship. One of his topics is the ball screen defense and its methods.
• Pero Cameron – The New Zealand national team’s former big man will give Filipinos much-needed advice and perspective on performing as an undersized center in international play. He was named to the 2002 FIBA World Championship All Star 5 alongside guys like Manu Ginobili and Dirk Nowitzki. He has also been coaching for 8 years in his home country.
• Nenad Vucinic – This Serbian champion coach and master tactician has been at it for 21 years. He coached the Tall Blacks for 8 years, eventually leading them to the last 16 in the 2010 World Cup. He is also set to impart his Olympic basketball experience as well as present Europe’s pick and roll techniques and combo defenses.
• Alex Compton – The PBA’s own Alaska coach will be joining the clinic to impart modern coaching methods gathered through experiences not only in the pro league but also as assistant coach to Gilas Pilipinas and as national training director of the NBTC (National Basketball Training Center). He will speak about pressure defense at the clinic.
• Jimmy Alapag – Leadership and good work ethic will be the key topics champion playmaker Alapag will teach Filipino coaches. A longtime national team and perennial leader, Alapag will be speaking from the point of view of a recently retired point guard with 13 years playing experience and 6 PBA titles to his name.

According to Baldwin, one of the chief goals of the clinic is to expose Filipino coaches to other basketball styles and methods beyond what’s most familiar from the NBA.

“I just want to expose them. I believe that one of the inherent weaknesses of the Philippine basketball landscape is that we are myopic in our view of basketball by almost exclusively in the NBA and America,” he explained.

“The biggest thing that I really hope to achieve is that our coaches are able to give more developed observation to our players about what they will be exposed to if they reach the international level or if they are ever put in front of international coaches and have to perform for them.”

Baldwin sees the clinic as an opportunity to pass on to Filipinos his own experiences and help them to become better.

“We want them to broaden their knowledge and this is a great way to do that.” – Rappler.com

For interested parties, you may visit the World Hoops Clinic Facebook page for details or contact John Flores (09175517275, 09989977275) or Jay Salvador (09281716108) or email worldhoopsclinicph@gmail.com, coachjflores@yahoo.com.