http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10007:accidental-coach-&catid=31:sports&Itemid=65
Part 2: The Accidental Coach
words, pictures, and video by rick olivares
words, pictures, and video by rick olivares
Rajko Toroman stands six feet tall but tall white men are your garden variety. If you were to look at him in a black golf shirt, shorts that are just above the knee and white Air Jordans, with his thin frame, he might be headed for the links rather than the basketball court.
Once the head coach of the SMART Gilas RP Men’s National Basketball Team was done playing competitive basketball, he figured out that part of his life was over. He confessed to not being a standout player and that is why he complemented his playing by taking a job with a marketing company back home in Serbia.
In a country like the former Yugoslavia where basketball is a religion, Toroman was an anomaly. Most Yugoslavians would seek a professional career after high school but Toroman went on to college.
While finishing out his playing days with Industrija Motora i Traktora (IMT) he found himself kicked upstairs from team captain to head coach. “What did I get myself into?” he recalled asking himself.
That stint with IMT got him named as an assistant for the last united Yugoslavian Men’s National Team that featured many future NBA players including Vlade Divac (Los Angeles Lakers), Toni Kukoc (Chicago Bulls), Predrag Danilovic (Miami Heat), Stojko Vrankovic (Boston Celtics), Zarko Paspalj (San Antonio Spurs), and Dino Radja (Boston Celtics) before the country and the squad was split apart.
Toroman shakes his head when talk ventures to the civil wars that engulfed and separated the former Baltic country. “We are friends,” he referred to the Croats like Kukoc and Radja. “Sports is a bond that will not break us. We can talk just like we do now wherever we meet. Sports cross borders where politics cannot. Like Iran that was invited to play in America. Politics is something I do not play.”
Toroman’s career took him across the borders of Europe all the way to Iran where he steered the team to an unlikely FIBA Asia Championship. Even as he departed for the Far East, his success with the Eurasian country opened the doors for more Serbs to teach and coach basketball in the land of the Ayatollahs.
The Iranian players were a disciplined bunch that would literally run to the wall and bang their heads and ask their coach how many times they would do it if so asked. “They were all in the military,” quipped Toroman. “That is why they follow orders well.”
“One of the things that I believe makes him a very good coach is his attention to detail,” pointed out Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Jose Emmanuel Eala. “It’s those little things; those nuances such as setting a pick, finding the open man, and the proper positioning for rebounds among others that will the difference between victory and defeat.”
Practices are meticulously timed and organized right down to the last minute.
In the team’s motion offense, everyone has a chance to score. “There are no stars. Everyone should be capable of hitting open shots or being called upon to deliver when asked to,” underscored Perry Martinez, Technical Committee Head of the SBP. “As good as Mac Baracael was with Far Eastern University in the UAAP, here he is even more lethal.”
He believes that every function that can be done as a team should be so. When staying at the hotel, everyone meets at the lobby before going to a restaurant or a coffee shop for meals. The team even has scheduled prayer time together before games.
And when the Gilas Squad breaks their huddle to Team Captain Chris Tiu’s call of “Pilipinas!” that is answered in return by a chorus of “Awoo!” as taken from the Spartan cheer in the film 300.
The coaching staff feels it is rather apt since Toroman’s homeland of Serbia was once part of the ancient Greek Empire.
But any conquering this team will have to do is on the basketball court.
On a balmy Wednesday afternoon, the Gilas RP Team has one last scrimmage with the PBA’s Alaska Aces at the Reyes Gym in Mandaluyong City before they leave for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia this May 2009.
The match between the young nationals and the seasoned pro team couldn’t have been scripted more perfectly.
The Aces are the masters of execution of professional basketball. Although they don’t exclusively run the famed Triangle Offense for a full game anymore, the wards of Tim Cone pick their spots well as when to spring it on their opponents. And though it is a scrimmage, there’s a subplot to the game with Cone, Alaska’s Head Coach, versus Toroman, the Serbian whose country has become the heir to masters of the game.
In previous exhibition matches with PBA teams, the Gilas squad gave a good account of themselves by sticking close and never allowing their professional counterparts to break the game wide open. For some part, they imposed their will on the game and forced the pros to play their style.
But against a Rosell Ellis powered Aces line-up, they ran their sets to perfection and near blew the young balers off the court with a 22-point halftime lead.
Toroman called for several timeouts and thundered and cajoled the Gilas players for their lack of intensity and failure to execute their sets.
At the break, the Serbian sat down and lowered his voice. The first half showed him at his near worst, as his team couldn’t do anything right. Now was the time to massage their feelings and encourage them. “I don’t care if we lose this game by one point or twenty points. Show some pride. Show your true character that I have seen. Play our game.”
The talk seemed to have worked.
Baracael and 6’ 10” American reinforcement CJ Giles started the second half with a 13-4 run highlighted by consecutive three-pointers by the former FEU Tamaraw and a highlight reel jam by the former Los Angeles Lakers draftee on Alaska center Sonny Thoss.
At the half, the Alaska team was whooping it up in their dugout below the gym. Midway through the third with the score at 72-66 in favor of Alaska, it was Cone burning timeouts and yelling at Willie Miller and Thoss to stick to their man.
But that was the closest the Gilas Team would come as they once more lapsed into a series of execution errors. Alaska won by 11.
Giles top scored with 20 points while Baracael added 18 and playmaker and co-captain Andy Mark Barroca chipped in 12 markers.
After the game, Toroman spent a few minutes with his wards dissecting very quickly what transpired. “I know what you’re capable of. You showed them what you can do when you execute. We have five days before we play our first game. It’s up to you how you want it.”
The team in is current line-up has only been together for five months. With Giles, it was just a few weeks. If anything, the FIBA tournament in Indonesia was a stepping-stone for the team as they try to tow the Philippines back to respectability and hopefully, a berth in the London Olympics.
“It’s a learning experience for us all,” said Toroman while in discussion with his assistants. “But we have to put our best foot forward.”
And that first foot forward is in Jakarta.
Notes: The game against Alaska was the Gilas team's worst outing. They were clearly fatigued and the jet lag was setting in. According to the Alaska coaches, their scrimmage game -- where both squads played at full throttle -- was their best game this season thus far.
The 12-man line-up going to Jakarta:
Chris Tiu (Head Captain)
Andy Mark Barroca (Co-captain)
Greg Slaughter
CJ Giles
Aldrech Ramos
Jason Ballesteros
Rey Guevarra
Dylan Ababou
RJ Jazul
Marnel Baracael
Ric Cawaling
JV Casio
Not making it for this trip: Ryan Buenafe and Magi Sison who will be practicing and training with their respective school teams. Fil-Am Sean Anthony is training with the team.
Schedule of Games:
May 12 RP vs Korea 4pm
May 13 RP vs Iran 2pm
May 15 RP vs Lebanon 2pm
May 16 RP vs Kuwait 1pm
May 17 Quarterfinals begin
May 19 semifinals
May 20 finals
All teams play to the very end for positioning.
Keep a look out for up to date developments of the Gilas Team here in Bleachers' Brew & Business Mirror.
Once the head coach of the SMART Gilas RP Men’s National Basketball Team was done playing competitive basketball, he figured out that part of his life was over. He confessed to not being a standout player and that is why he complemented his playing by taking a job with a marketing company back home in Serbia.
In a country like the former Yugoslavia where basketball is a religion, Toroman was an anomaly. Most Yugoslavians would seek a professional career after high school but Toroman went on to college.
While finishing out his playing days with Industrija Motora i Traktora (IMT) he found himself kicked upstairs from team captain to head coach. “What did I get myself into?” he recalled asking himself.
That stint with IMT got him named as an assistant for the last united Yugoslavian Men’s National Team that featured many future NBA players including Vlade Divac (Los Angeles Lakers), Toni Kukoc (Chicago Bulls), Predrag Danilovic (Miami Heat), Stojko Vrankovic (Boston Celtics), Zarko Paspalj (San Antonio Spurs), and Dino Radja (Boston Celtics) before the country and the squad was split apart.
Toroman shakes his head when talk ventures to the civil wars that engulfed and separated the former Baltic country. “We are friends,” he referred to the Croats like Kukoc and Radja. “Sports is a bond that will not break us. We can talk just like we do now wherever we meet. Sports cross borders where politics cannot. Like Iran that was invited to play in America. Politics is something I do not play.”
Toroman’s career took him across the borders of Europe all the way to Iran where he steered the team to an unlikely FIBA Asia Championship. Even as he departed for the Far East, his success with the Eurasian country opened the doors for more Serbs to teach and coach basketball in the land of the Ayatollahs.
The Iranian players were a disciplined bunch that would literally run to the wall and bang their heads and ask their coach how many times they would do it if so asked. “They were all in the military,” quipped Toroman. “That is why they follow orders well.”
“One of the things that I believe makes him a very good coach is his attention to detail,” pointed out Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Jose Emmanuel Eala. “It’s those little things; those nuances such as setting a pick, finding the open man, and the proper positioning for rebounds among others that will the difference between victory and defeat.”
Practices are meticulously timed and organized right down to the last minute.
In the team’s motion offense, everyone has a chance to score. “There are no stars. Everyone should be capable of hitting open shots or being called upon to deliver when asked to,” underscored Perry Martinez, Technical Committee Head of the SBP. “As good as Mac Baracael was with Far Eastern University in the UAAP, here he is even more lethal.”
He believes that every function that can be done as a team should be so. When staying at the hotel, everyone meets at the lobby before going to a restaurant or a coffee shop for meals. The team even has scheduled prayer time together before games.
And when the Gilas Squad breaks their huddle to Team Captain Chris Tiu’s call of “Pilipinas!” that is answered in return by a chorus of “Awoo!” as taken from the Spartan cheer in the film 300.
The coaching staff feels it is rather apt since Toroman’s homeland of Serbia was once part of the ancient Greek Empire.
But any conquering this team will have to do is on the basketball court.
On a balmy Wednesday afternoon, the Gilas RP Team has one last scrimmage with the PBA’s Alaska Aces at the Reyes Gym in Mandaluyong City before they leave for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia this May 2009.
The match between the young nationals and the seasoned pro team couldn’t have been scripted more perfectly.
The Aces are the masters of execution of professional basketball. Although they don’t exclusively run the famed Triangle Offense for a full game anymore, the wards of Tim Cone pick their spots well as when to spring it on their opponents. And though it is a scrimmage, there’s a subplot to the game with Cone, Alaska’s Head Coach, versus Toroman, the Serbian whose country has become the heir to masters of the game.
In previous exhibition matches with PBA teams, the Gilas squad gave a good account of themselves by sticking close and never allowing their professional counterparts to break the game wide open. For some part, they imposed their will on the game and forced the pros to play their style.
But against a Rosell Ellis powered Aces line-up, they ran their sets to perfection and near blew the young balers off the court with a 22-point halftime lead.
Toroman called for several timeouts and thundered and cajoled the Gilas players for their lack of intensity and failure to execute their sets.
At the break, the Serbian sat down and lowered his voice. The first half showed him at his near worst, as his team couldn’t do anything right. Now was the time to massage their feelings and encourage them. “I don’t care if we lose this game by one point or twenty points. Show some pride. Show your true character that I have seen. Play our game.”
The talk seemed to have worked.
Baracael and 6’ 10” American reinforcement CJ Giles started the second half with a 13-4 run highlighted by consecutive three-pointers by the former FEU Tamaraw and a highlight reel jam by the former Los Angeles Lakers draftee on Alaska center Sonny Thoss.
At the half, the Alaska team was whooping it up in their dugout below the gym. Midway through the third with the score at 72-66 in favor of Alaska, it was Cone burning timeouts and yelling at Willie Miller and Thoss to stick to their man.
But that was the closest the Gilas Team would come as they once more lapsed into a series of execution errors. Alaska won by 11.
Giles top scored with 20 points while Baracael added 18 and playmaker and co-captain Andy Mark Barroca chipped in 12 markers.
After the game, Toroman spent a few minutes with his wards dissecting very quickly what transpired. “I know what you’re capable of. You showed them what you can do when you execute. We have five days before we play our first game. It’s up to you how you want it.”
The team in is current line-up has only been together for five months. With Giles, it was just a few weeks. If anything, the FIBA tournament in Indonesia was a stepping-stone for the team as they try to tow the Philippines back to respectability and hopefully, a berth in the London Olympics.
“It’s a learning experience for us all,” said Toroman while in discussion with his assistants. “But we have to put our best foot forward.”
And that first foot forward is in Jakarta.
Notes: The game against Alaska was the Gilas team's worst outing. They were clearly fatigued and the jet lag was setting in. According to the Alaska coaches, their scrimmage game -- where both squads played at full throttle -- was their best game this season thus far.
The 12-man line-up going to Jakarta:
Chris Tiu (Head Captain)
Andy Mark Barroca (Co-captain)
Greg Slaughter
CJ Giles
Aldrech Ramos
Jason Ballesteros
Rey Guevarra
Dylan Ababou
RJ Jazul
Marnel Baracael
Ric Cawaling
JV Casio
Not making it for this trip: Ryan Buenafe and Magi Sison who will be practicing and training with their respective school teams. Fil-Am Sean Anthony is training with the team.
Schedule of Games:
May 12 RP vs Korea 4pm
May 13 RP vs Iran 2pm
May 15 RP vs Lebanon 2pm
May 16 RP vs Kuwait 1pm
May 17 Quarterfinals begin
May 19 semifinals
May 20 finals
All teams play to the very end for positioning.
Keep a look out for up to date developments of the Gilas Team here in Bleachers' Brew & Business Mirror.
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