Makikipag-ugnayan ang bagong itinalagang head coach ng Gilas Pilipinas na si Thomas Anthony “Tab” Baldwin sa kanyang local counterparts, magmula sa PBA coaches hanggang sa collegiate coaches, upang makakuha ng kaukulang mga impormasyon na kanyang magagamit na reference o batayan sa kanyang pagpili ng mga manlalarong bubuo sa national men`s basketball team.
Naniniwala si Baldwin na magiging napakahirap ng kanilang pagdaraanang proseso para sa seleksiyon dahil sa dami ng available na talents kung ikukumpara sa mga dati na niyang nahawakang national teams na New Zealand, Lebanon at Jordan.
“We will select the pool, and as of this point, a lot is still in the works. But I intend to work with the PBA coaches and the collegiate coaches, take their advice on board because they are my references for these players and we will work with them to select the players. And from that point, I believe that the players should fight it out to get these uniforms,” ani Baldwin.
Sinabi rin ng 4-time NBL Coach of the Year na naiiba ang Pinoy basketball players kung ihahambing sa kanyang mga nahawakang manlalaro sa ibang bansa.
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“The pool of talent is deeper, especially in the guard position. But the level of talent is slightly different with other countries.”
Sa kabila aniya ng napakarami nang Filipino-foreign players na dumating sa bansa, hindi nagbago ang kultura ng mga Pinoy o ang kakaibang istilo nila ng paglalaro dahil kabaligtaran ang nangyayari na ang mga bagong salta ang yumayakap sa kultura ng local bred players.
“Filipino players play with an incredible level of confidence, one I haven’t seen in my experience around the world, and that is a huge advantage. Of course, that has to be tempered with systems that can be achieve in international basketball, and I think marrying those two concepts is the guts of this job. I think that would be my biggest challenge, but I’m very excited of the opportunity,`` ayon pa kay Baldwin.
