Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Hiring alien coach is risky: RP team coach
MANILA - Designated RP team head coach Yeng Guiao yesterday commented that the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas-BAP is facing a big risk if it appoints Serbian coach Rajko Toroman as mentor of the RP team for the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) tournament and the Southeast Asian Games.
The Red Bull bench tactician Guiao, who was also a former president of the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP), said there is already an
earlier court ruling that prohibited the appointment of foreign coaches for the RP team unless in matters of technology transfer that no local mentor can perform.
“I am speaking as a Filipino coach myself and not as an RP national team coach or Red Bull coach. There was already a court ruling on this matter that no foreigners can coach the RP squad unless no one is available and the skills that he can give is beyond ordinary that no local coaches can provide,” said Guiao during yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Shakeys U.N. Avenue branch.
Reference
The Pampanga vice-gover-nor was clearly referring to a court ruling issued a few years ago when the BCAP, now headed by Chito Narvasa, questioned the appointment of foreign coaches like John Moran, Bill Bayno and Paul Woolpert in the PBA.
Guiao stressed that the Regional Trial Court ruling in the early 1990s was in line with the directive of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) in hiring foreigners for local employment in the country.
“I’m not sure if the BCAP will protest the contract of Toroman, but as a Filipino coach, I’m personally against it unless he is really exceptional that he can work wonders for the RP squad,” added Guiao.
Guiao’s statement came only when SBP-BAP executive-director Noli Eala and Toroman have already left the weekly forum yesterday for the signing of the latter’s three-year contract with SBP head Manny Pangilinan at the PLDT Tower in Makati City.
Handling
Earler reports quoted Eala as saying that the former Iran national team head coach Toroman will handle the RP team for the 2010 Asian Games and 2011 Fiba-Asia championship and even for the Seaba and the Sea Games in Laos next year.
The RP squad being formed now by the PBA to be handled by Guiao is for the 2009 Fiba-Asia World Championship qualifying in China in September next year.
Meanwhile, Guiao said that with the limited time for the Fiba-Asia tournament, he needs one or two seven-footer naturalized players from any nationalities, who possessed NBA talents and wish to play for the country.
“Our performances in Tokushima, Japan last year showed that we have the skills and the program, but our sizes are no longer enough even for the Asian tournaments level,” stressed Guiao. (Frank Calapre)
