Baldwin not burdened by concurrent Gilas, Ateneo duties

Ateneo and Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin. photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Despite the number of hats he has to wear, Tab Baldwin is finding ways to make things work amid his hectic schedule.

That’s why he’s keeping his patience with Gilas Pilipinas’ Monday practices while splitting time with Ateneo and TNT.

“I know there’s a division of time and a division of responsibility, and sometimes, there’s division of attention, and that can be a distraction,” he said. “It’s an imperfect world but I enjoy it.”

“For me, every time I walk on the floor with my Ateneo team, it’s a blessing to be working with young guys and developing them, and it’s an entirely different type of coaching when I walk on the floor with the Gilas team. I know I’m blessed to be doing that job and I have great relationship with most of the Gilas guys.”

Since the turn of the year, Baldwin has had to split his focus and effort between the national team and the Blue Eagles, where he both serves as the head coach, on top of his duties as consultant for TNT.

Still, he doesn’t mind the burden, saying, “I don’t see it as a sacrifice.”

“When we come to May and I have the Gilas team full time, then maybe I’ll feel it because I won’t be at every Ateneo practice and when we go overseas, obviously I’ll miss a couple of weeks. That would be tough, but I know it going in and I know it’s a part of the job that I’m assigned to do.”

Division of responsibility

Baldwin is also optimistic that Ateneo can make do without him in the offseason when he puts all of his focus on Gilas.

“I don’t foresee that being a major problem logistically. It’s something that internally, I had to deal with. I have a lot of trust in my coaching staff, they know these players very ell and they know what I’m trying to do and they’ve bought in. I think we’re OK and we’re going to weather this division of responsibility without much hardship.”

Despite that, American-Kiwi coach admits that the divided attention of his national team players between Gilas and PBA season is taking its toll.

“I think that it prevents us from bonding a little bit better because you just can’t defy human nature,” he said.

“Sometimes, they come in and they just played each other or they’re going to play each other in the coming days, and that’s not easy. Fortunately, they know each other very well. They have history with each other, so the impact is really minimal but it certainly doesn’t assist in the bonding process. It’s something that we have to deal with, and I think the guys deal with it very well.”

Baldwin, however, is looking forward for May 20 with the league wrapping up the second conference if it goes the full distance.

“I’m looking forward to May when we get together and we’ll really work on the chemistry and I’m sure we’ll do that,” he said.