Baldwin reminds Gilas about lessons learned in Asian Games

Gilas Pilipinas huddles after practice at Meralco gym. National team head coach Tab Baldwin on Monday gathered his team at center court and told his players not to let their guard down ahead of their showdown with South Korea. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

TAIPEI – Tab Baldwin broke up Gilas Pilipinas’ morning practice on Monday reminding everyone to brace themselves and not fall in a state of complacency that almost wrecked the entire national program in the Asian Games last year in South Korea.

“We will be tested, we will be tested in a lot of ways,” Baldwin told the last huddle after a one-hour workout before expounding to media the tests he was telling the team.

“I was talking about relaxing their attitude (after a first win in the Jones Cup) and not taking (the other) teams seriously as we move through the tournament,” Baldwin explained.

“All it takes is a couple of lazy, irresponsible losses and you damage people’s reputation, damage your own and damage your careers.”

Though he didn’t say it directly, Baldwin was obviously talking of the woeful Asian Games campaign Gilas had last year, where the Filipinos lost to Korea and Qatar and failed to make the top four.

He also did not specifically name Marcus Douthit, who threw a fit against the Qataris and cost the Filipinos the match.

“I felt in the Asian Games, it was a real disservice to Chot (Reyes, the man he replaced at the helm) – the way the team played a couple of times,” he went on. “He did a phenomenal job last year and he was really sacrificed.

“This is a sensitive subject to be talking about. Chot and I are friends and I felt really bad for Chot. I felt he got the raw end of the deal,” Baldwin said. “There was a lot of stuff going on last year and I felt the team could have helped him more.”

Reyes had a string of successes starting with the Jones Cup in 2012, when he steered the team past the United States in overtime to become the first Filipino coach to win the event.

Gilas then went on to finish a fighting second to Iran in the Fiba-Asia to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in close to 40 years in Spain last year. The Filipinos also nipped Senegal, 82-79, in extra time for the Philippines first World Cup win in more than four decades.

“I just want to guard them against relaxing and hurting Gilas and helping everybody involved in Gilas because that’s what it does when you drop your guard,” Baldwin, who was recruited into the program by Reyes, said in breaking up his own huddle with the Filipino press.

“I’m not afraid to say it publicly, because it happens and, unfortunately when it happens, it’s over-inflated and sometimes, people are hurt by that and that’s sad.”