IF there is somebody who is frustrated with the decision of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to appoint American Tab Baldwin to replace Chot Reyes as Gilas Pilipinas head coach, it is lawyer-sportsman Baldomero Estenzo.
Estenzo, in a talk with Sun.Star Cebu, admitted that choosing Baldwin over competent Filipino coaches was frustrating because it denied homegrown talents the chance to coach the national team.
“Are we drained of coaching talents? We have competent coaches in the PBA, we have Yeng Guiao, Jong Uichico or Robert Jaworski. Why do we have to hire American coaches? I respect Tab’s credentials but what puzzles me is why do we have to hire him as the head coach of our national team? He can be a consultant to the team,” said Estenzo, who is also the manager of the University of Cebu basketball team.
Baldwin has been coaching in New Zealand, leading the Auckland Stars to numerous titles in the New Zealand Basketball League. He also led New Zealand’s national team—the Tall Blacks—to the semifinal round of the 2002 Fiba World Championship.
Aside from coaching New Zealand, Baldwin coached Malaysia in 1996, Lebanon in 2010 and Jordan in 2011. He was a consultant to Reyes in the last Gilas squad and currently sits as consultant for the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the PBA.
Estenzo’s frustration was fortified by Baldwin’s actions on the court in Game 4 of the Talk ‘n Text’s series with San Miguel Beermen.
“If you saw his actions on the court, that was unprofessional. Why would you confront Arwind Santos for scoring a dunk with 2.7 seconds remaining of the game? It only means that he is ignorant of the rules. PBA is a pro league, it’s showtime and because Arwind was elated with the victory and he had the momentum so he went for the dunk. Why would you feel insulted about it?” Estenzo said.
Estenzo’s observation was also seconded by University of San Carlos Warriors chief backer and Bogo City Mayor Junie Martinez, who also believed that the hiring of Baldwin is unnecessary since the Philippines has many good coaches that could handle Gilas very well.
“I think that was not a good decision of the SBP. We have many good coaches who can probably do even better than Chot Reyes. What I don’t understand was the criteria they set for the selection of the next coach. It’s like eliminating all possible candidates to give way to one person,” Martinez said. RCM