Former Thailand coach Tim Lewis impressed with Gilas’ depth

Tim Lewis. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson

Gilas Pilipinas resumed team practices on Thursday and curiously welcomed a new face in coach Tim Lewis.

The British mentor, who was last seen in the country mentoring Thailand in the 2017 Seaba Championship, was on hand at Upper Deck Gym in Pasig and ran a few defensive drills with the squad which is preparing for the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup in August.

Coach Chot Reyes explained that Lewis’ involvement is just temporary, saying he’s been in communication with the former Thailand coach since the regional tiff in May.

“We’ve been talking since the Seaba and he’s doing some work now with TNT. So I said, ‘Since you’re in town, we might as well take advantage of your knowledge.’ And he really wanted to come and watch the Gilas practice. There are things that he does that we feel is gonna be useful for us and so that’s why he’s here,” he said.

Lewis also said that he’s in the country only as a guest and thanked as Reyes for allowing him to subject the national team to some defensive schemes.

“It’s just a casual basis. I’ve come over as a guest to (assistant coach) Josh Reyes and be around him, talk about basketball. And then his dad offered me the opportunity to be on the floor,” he said. “It’s a very loose situation, so there’s no contract. I’m glad to help out. It’s just an opportunity to coach basketball somewhere else in the world and I appreciate them giving me the opportunity.”

Having a first-hand look at the Gilas pool, the 49-year-old coach believes that despite sending a youthful cadet squad in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines is still going to be the team-to-beat no matter what.

“You got so many tools, so many weapons, so much depth at each spot. And the way that you play is at an uptempo style of basketball cause you’ve adopted because of the lack of size at times. And now, you have the additions to the size as well,” he said.

“You’re never scared to bring in these younger guys, too, to put them on the face of adversity and challenge them and see whether they could take it. It’s impressive. It’s a well-oiled machine. It’s a really good job done by you guys. I think it’s exciting times for Philippine basketball.”