Tab Baldwin. PBA PHOTO
Seeing the news of other national teams naming a huge pool of players, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin can’t help but feel envious of the other nations’ luxury of picking from a big group of players.
“I just saw the USA announce their pool of 34 players and I’m pretty envious of that. I know New Zealand had over 20 in theirs,” he said. “Generally, teams are upward of 20 to 30 players in their pool and we’re struggling to get 10 out there on the court. It’s tough.”
“We’re really hurting for numbers. I don’t know if I have a solution for that. It’s kind of disappointing, a setback for us. We’re going into camp where we really expect the knocks, the bangs, and the bruises, and more, I don’t know if we have the numbers to sustain that.”
READ: List of PBA players for Gilas Pilipinas Pool
But with the cards dealt to the team, Baldwin is just working with what the national team currently has and is preparing the squad for a tougher grind for the training camp to a place he describes as “something exotic.”
READ: Gilas coach Baldwin: ‘I like this team’ | Baldwin not gathering ‘best talent’ but assembling ‘best team’ for Gilas
“It’s a surprise for everybody,” Baldwin said. “It will be a two-a-day camp. We’ll work harder and work more, and we’ll try to make big strides in terms of our playing system.”
Though the exact location is still a mystery, a Europe trip is expected to be on slate for Gilas as the team continues its six-week buildup for the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship in Changsha, China.
“There’s not flights every day to these exotic places that we want to go. We’re still trying to get the logistics out of the way,” the coach said.
But before the team leaves, Baldwin is hoping to address the big issue of them of not having enough players.
“I’m gonna think real serious where we’re going to get some help, whether it’s practice players or whether we will extend the pool. We’ll have to see what we can do. I think it’s mandatory that we do something,” he said. IDL