Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin is just humbled with the support the team has been getting from other PBA players and their mother clubs.
“We have some people in Philippine basketball that love our team and are prepared to help us in any way that they can even though they can’t play for the team,” he said.
Baldwin mentioned that GlobalPort slasher Stanley Pringle has also expressed his willingness to be a practice player for Gilas following the exit of Paul Lee and the injuries to Jeff Chan and Marcio Lassiter.
However, Baldwin had to politely turn down the offer, saying, “We’ve got enough guards here and we don’t really have any issue on depth.”
Blackwater also made big man JP Erram available for the national team, but with Rain or Shine already lending Raymond Almazan to Gilas, Baldwin couldn’t be more grateful.
“Any offer like that is music to my ears, and coaches love it,” he said. “JP is young and he’s got a lot to learn. He’s not proven as Raymond is on the PBA scene, but looking forward, all of these big guys, because we have such a dearth on big guys in Philippine basketball, are precious resources for us.”
Still, Baldwin is appreciative of the support, recalling past instances where Gilas drew contributions from veteran PBA players who were more than willing to help even if it required them to go out of their way.
“Rob Reyes helped us in Miami two years ago. Beau Belga in Gilas 2.0 was with us the whole way. JD (Jared Dillinger) always said, ‘Coach, if you just need another body, just tell me.’ There are a lot of players in Philippine basketball that would give a lot to play for us and even help us out even when they can’t be part of the roster. I think that’s worth applauding and I think that’s a fantastic example to everybody in the Philippine basketball scene,” he said.
“That should be our mentality. What can we do to help the national team? We do what we can do because we’re going to share all the plaudits if we win and all the pain if we lost. This isn’t something that this team feels and enjoys. We are committed to playing for this country and it’s so wonderful when we see this country so tangibly committed in helping us out.”