Thursday, May 31, 2007 5 men to make final change in RP SMC lineup today
BANGKOK - An hour of reckoning loomed over San Miguel-Pilipinas even as it celebrated with quiet restraint its moment of triumph in the 7th Southeast Asian Basketball Men’s Championship at Ratchaburi.
There was no frenzied outburst at the final buzzer. No player pileup. No victory ride. No tears falling, nor big hugs all around.
Instead there was a slow procession from the locker room back to the playing court for the awarding ceremony, a somber dinner at the hotel restaurant, and national coach Chot Reyes talking about three players – Willie Miller of Alaska, Kelly Williams of Sta. Lucia Realty and Gave Norwood, a Fil-Am who played for George Mason U.
Unless conflicting schedules force its postponement, five men—PBA chairman Ricky Vargas, Commissioner Noli Eala, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Patrick Gregorio, RP team manager Robert Non and Reyes—will gather today to make an evaluation on the final composition of the national team going to Tokushima, Japan for the Fiba-Asia Men’s Championship on July 28-Aug. 5.
New pool
This much is known: A new training pool will be formed where Miller and Williams, if their ball clubs allow them, and Norwood, if he is found, will be added.
Two new assistant coaches would be appointed to the team and the names of Joel Banal, Jong Uichico, Binky Favis and Alfrancis Chua were mentioned.
Lastly, proposed foreign trips to Belgrade and Qatar, preparatory to Tokushima, the qualifier to the Beijing Olympics next year, might be scrapped in favor of the nine-games-in-nine days William Jones Cup where China, Korea, Chinese-Taipei and Japan will be playing.
“I think that would be a more attractive tournament,” said Eala, who minced no words on the imperativeness of change within the team which ran roughshod over the Seaba competition by an average margin of 38.5 points.
“Although winning restores our confidence after Tehran, this is not the time to celebrate or be complacent,” he said. “There’s still much room for improvement, especially in the scouting of opponents, the strengthening and conditioning of the players, and the composition of the coaching staff.”
Eala said they will “regroup” in Manila “to plot what’s best” for the team.
Focus
“While I don’t want to second-guess coach Chot, the training program, I feel, needs to be more focused on areas of weaknesses which I don’t think would be addressed by the planned trips to Belgrade and Qatar,” he said. “A balance has to be struck.”
Gregorio, appointed to the SBP post only weeks ago, said two major concerns needed to be analyzed—the significance of the foreign trips and the conditioning and focus of the team.
“While winning the SEABA is a wonderful gift, the best is yet to come,” he said.
None went to specifics in identifying points of attention: mental preparedness, conditioning, and total team effort.
“There should be no superstar in this team,” he said. “Everybody should accept the role assigned to him.”
Among those painfully exposed during the week-long battle with overmatched opponents from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were the all-pro team’s slow starts, difficulty defending quick-moving offenses, generally unremarkable outside shooting (except for Renren Ritualo’s 9 of 12 three-pointers against Malaysia), and ball movement woes. (PBA Media Bureau)
