SMART Gilas RP Men’s National Basketball Team Series
This appears in the sports section of the Thursday edition of the Business Mirror May 7, 2009. http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/sports/9934-a-meeting-of-minds.html
Part 1: A Meeting of Minds
by rick olivares
by rick olivares
Thirteen players stood in line on one end while the coaches and trainers on the opposite. They all sang the Philippine National Anthem and in the quiet confines of the Blue Eagle Gym in the Ateneo de Manila University campus on a Tuesday evening, even in hushed tones their voices carried.
It is a pre-practice ritual for the SMART Gilas RP Men’s National Basketball Team to sing the National Anthem after all, they are representing their country.
And it is customary after the singing that the team huddles around its Head Coach, Rajko Toroman, for instructions on what they are going to do for the day.
But on this night, emotion quaked in his voice as he was unhappy about center Gregory Slaughter’s not making it back to Manila in time for practice. After several weeks of training in the United States and Serbia, Slaughter went home to Cebu for a quick respite. He was not able to coordinate properly with team officials for the flight back to Manila.
The Serbian Coach, speaking in vastly improved English, spoke of commitment and reminded everyone of the task at hand; of sacrifices made by all in the Philippines’ quest to regain lost basketball glory.
Commitment. It is such a big word for everyone on the team. Toroman included.
Some eight months earlier during the 20th FIBA Asia championship for Junior Men (August 28 to September 5, 2008) in Tehran, Iran, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Jose Emmanuel Eala found himself seated next to Toroman while watching one of the games.
Toroman intrigued Eala. During the 2007 FIBA Men’s Basketball Championship in Tokushima, Japan, he chanced upon Toroman alone in the hotel lobby en route to Iran’s next game.
Eala had never seen a coach go about handling a team without a battery of assistants or an entourage. During that tournament (which Iran won), the SBP Secretary-General (the international basketball equivalent of Executive Director) noticed how calm the Serb was during games. A furrow would occasionally develop on his brow and he would bark orders every now and then through an interpreter. But he was mostly composed.
It was only after the championship game when Iran beat Lebanon 74-69 to gain a highly-coveted Olympic berth for the 2008 Beijing Olympics that Toroman allowed his emotions to get the better of him as he raced onto the floor and hugged his players.
“There’s one coach who truly cares for his team and his players,” noted Eala as he filed the thought away for future use.
Now seated next to each other in the Azadi Basketball Hall for the Youth tournament in Tehran, Eala recalled that bit of information as he introduced himself to a puzzled Toroman. “I’m from the Philippines,” said Eala hoping the coach would catch on at the name of the country.
The Serb’s eyes immediately lit up in recognition and he said in halting English, “Your players are very good.”
He didn’t know the names but he was quick to point out players number 4, 8, 10, and 12 were very talented.
The players were Mark Caguioa, Asi Taulava, Gabe Norwood, and Kerby Raymundo respectively. Toroman didn’t know their names but he quickly spouted their respective statistics, another thought that quickly augured well for Eala. Toroman even knew the rebound total of the Filipino players as well as statistics on block shots and missed free throws of the San Miguel Team Pilipinas in their preliminary round loss to Iran 75-69.
“Either this guy is insane or he is a basketball genius,” once more said an impressed Eala to himself. Knowing that his contract with Iran had expired, Eala mentioned to Toroman that the SBP was looking for a coach for the Philippine National Team. “We have an opening,” he dangled.
Earlier, the Executive Director informed the SBP brass about offering the slot to Toroman even if it might create a firestorm of protest by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines that had previously fought appointments of Americans Bill Bayno and John Moran to Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) ballclubs.
Hiring a foreign coach was but the first step of a long term commitment to improving not just the national team but the Philippines’ standing in FIBA and in Asia where it ranked #63 and #17 respectively at the time. Many of Asia’s traditional powers like China and South Korea had foreign coaches who helped jump start their programs.
The country has fielded all-professional line-ups to international competitions and as good as they were the lack of a long-term commitment to the national team spelled a huge difference in the end results. Some of the international tournaments ran in conflict with the PBA’s schedule sometimes forcing hastily-formed line-ups to be fielded. Add to that a glaring lack of international experience where the rules were vastly different from local hoops and it had all the makings of disappointing finishes for the Philippines.
So the SBP brain trust revisited an old model – Ron Jacobs’ Northern Consolidated Cement (NCC) team that developed an exclusive training pool of talents augmented by Fil-foreigners. Much like the NCC squad, the pool included some of the best players in the Philippine collegiate ranks who would forego a pro career for a period of three years and commit to the national team.
From the one to the three-spot, the Filipinos could compete but at the five-spot, the squad would need the taller and more athletic Fil-Americans to combat the international behemoths inside the shaded area.
The two met that same night in the coffee shop of their hotel to further discuss matters but Eala didn’t think he’d get much of a chance to land Toroman’s services until the Serbian emailed him a few days later.
After Beijing, there were three offers on Coach Rajko’s table: to continue his work with Iran, to join the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach where one of his Iranian players, 7’2” center Hamed Haddadi was signed as a free agent, or to go to the Philippines. “There was a larger role for me. A bigger opportunity; a much bigger responsibility to help in the long run,” disclosed the suddenly in demand coach.
Toroman’s email was a detailed work plan on getting the Philippines back on its basketball legs. The SBP Executive Director smacked his lips as he poured through the Serbian’s letter.
Christmas had come a few months early.
Next: The Accidental Coach
Author's Note: I am writing two sets of series on the Gilas RP Team. The first set is a three-part piece of which you just saw the opening piece. The next one is on Rajko Toroman and the third which will come out in my column in Business Mirror on Monday is about the players.
I will be leaving with the Gilas RP Team on Sunday for Jakarta and there begins the second part of the series. The team will be there for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup from May 12-21.
Hope you enjoy the series!
My first one on the Gilas Team:
http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2009/03/sbp-smart-gilas-rp-national-team.html
It is a pre-practice ritual for the SMART Gilas RP Men’s National Basketball Team to sing the National Anthem after all, they are representing their country.
And it is customary after the singing that the team huddles around its Head Coach, Rajko Toroman, for instructions on what they are going to do for the day.
But on this night, emotion quaked in his voice as he was unhappy about center Gregory Slaughter’s not making it back to Manila in time for practice. After several weeks of training in the United States and Serbia, Slaughter went home to Cebu for a quick respite. He was not able to coordinate properly with team officials for the flight back to Manila.
The Serbian Coach, speaking in vastly improved English, spoke of commitment and reminded everyone of the task at hand; of sacrifices made by all in the Philippines’ quest to regain lost basketball glory.
Commitment. It is such a big word for everyone on the team. Toroman included.
Some eight months earlier during the 20th FIBA Asia championship for Junior Men (August 28 to September 5, 2008) in Tehran, Iran, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Jose Emmanuel Eala found himself seated next to Toroman while watching one of the games.
Toroman intrigued Eala. During the 2007 FIBA Men’s Basketball Championship in Tokushima, Japan, he chanced upon Toroman alone in the hotel lobby en route to Iran’s next game.
Eala had never seen a coach go about handling a team without a battery of assistants or an entourage. During that tournament (which Iran won), the SBP Secretary-General (the international basketball equivalent of Executive Director) noticed how calm the Serb was during games. A furrow would occasionally develop on his brow and he would bark orders every now and then through an interpreter. But he was mostly composed.
It was only after the championship game when Iran beat Lebanon 74-69 to gain a highly-coveted Olympic berth for the 2008 Beijing Olympics that Toroman allowed his emotions to get the better of him as he raced onto the floor and hugged his players.
“There’s one coach who truly cares for his team and his players,” noted Eala as he filed the thought away for future use.
Now seated next to each other in the Azadi Basketball Hall for the Youth tournament in Tehran, Eala recalled that bit of information as he introduced himself to a puzzled Toroman. “I’m from the Philippines,” said Eala hoping the coach would catch on at the name of the country.
The Serb’s eyes immediately lit up in recognition and he said in halting English, “Your players are very good.”
He didn’t know the names but he was quick to point out players number 4, 8, 10, and 12 were very talented.
The players were Mark Caguioa, Asi Taulava, Gabe Norwood, and Kerby Raymundo respectively. Toroman didn’t know their names but he quickly spouted their respective statistics, another thought that quickly augured well for Eala. Toroman even knew the rebound total of the Filipino players as well as statistics on block shots and missed free throws of the San Miguel Team Pilipinas in their preliminary round loss to Iran 75-69.
“Either this guy is insane or he is a basketball genius,” once more said an impressed Eala to himself. Knowing that his contract with Iran had expired, Eala mentioned to Toroman that the SBP was looking for a coach for the Philippine National Team. “We have an opening,” he dangled.
Earlier, the Executive Director informed the SBP brass about offering the slot to Toroman even if it might create a firestorm of protest by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines that had previously fought appointments of Americans Bill Bayno and John Moran to Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) ballclubs.
Hiring a foreign coach was but the first step of a long term commitment to improving not just the national team but the Philippines’ standing in FIBA and in Asia where it ranked #63 and #17 respectively at the time. Many of Asia’s traditional powers like China and South Korea had foreign coaches who helped jump start their programs.
The country has fielded all-professional line-ups to international competitions and as good as they were the lack of a long-term commitment to the national team spelled a huge difference in the end results. Some of the international tournaments ran in conflict with the PBA’s schedule sometimes forcing hastily-formed line-ups to be fielded. Add to that a glaring lack of international experience where the rules were vastly different from local hoops and it had all the makings of disappointing finishes for the Philippines.
So the SBP brain trust revisited an old model – Ron Jacobs’ Northern Consolidated Cement (NCC) team that developed an exclusive training pool of talents augmented by Fil-foreigners. Much like the NCC squad, the pool included some of the best players in the Philippine collegiate ranks who would forego a pro career for a period of three years and commit to the national team.
From the one to the three-spot, the Filipinos could compete but at the five-spot, the squad would need the taller and more athletic Fil-Americans to combat the international behemoths inside the shaded area.
The two met that same night in the coffee shop of their hotel to further discuss matters but Eala didn’t think he’d get much of a chance to land Toroman’s services until the Serbian emailed him a few days later.
After Beijing, there were three offers on Coach Rajko’s table: to continue his work with Iran, to join the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach where one of his Iranian players, 7’2” center Hamed Haddadi was signed as a free agent, or to go to the Philippines. “There was a larger role for me. A bigger opportunity; a much bigger responsibility to help in the long run,” disclosed the suddenly in demand coach.
Toroman’s email was a detailed work plan on getting the Philippines back on its basketball legs. The SBP Executive Director smacked his lips as he poured through the Serbian’s letter.
Christmas had come a few months early.
Next: The Accidental Coach
Author's Note: I am writing two sets of series on the Gilas RP Team. The first set is a three-part piece of which you just saw the opening piece. The next one is on Rajko Toroman and the third which will come out in my column in Business Mirror on Monday is about the players.
I will be leaving with the Gilas RP Team on Sunday for Jakarta and there begins the second part of the series. The team will be there for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup from May 12-21.
Hope you enjoy the series!
My first one on the Gilas Team:
http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2009/03/sbp-smart-gilas-rp-national-team.html
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