WITNESSING young cagers morph into the future of the national team is surely a sight to behold.
That explains why Gilas Pilipinas Youth coach LA Tenorio is preaching the same defensive rudiments of the seniors’ squad, where he serves as assistant tactician to his long-time Ginebra mentor, Tim Cone, to the young Filipino dribblers.
“We want to be consistent in concepts and the teaching of the defense. When LA talked to coach Tim, they agreed that LA can do whatever he wants offensively,” Gilas Youth deputy Richard Del Rosario said. “But as much as possible, we need to teach the same as Gilas men on defense.
“That’s part of the development of the program, so when these kids have the opportunity to play for the men’s team, then it’ll be easier for them to understand,” he added.
Del Rosario, who is an assistant to Cone with the Kings and Gilas, has guarded optimism on the Under-16 crew’s bid in the SEABA qualifiers that kick off this Saturday, May 24, at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga where it will take on Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
“The raw desire and energy of these kids every day is infectious,” Del Rosario said. “They are really hungry to prove themselves, and they want to create their own path in the sport of basketball.
“The willingness to learn is there. Sometimes, of course, their youthful exuberance takes over and you need to control it a bit.”
Out to lead the charge in Tenorio’s baptism of fire are UAAP juniors’ finals MVP Gab Delos Reyes of the University of the East and fellow Junior Warriors Brian Orca, Goodluck Okebata, and Jolo Pascual, along with UST star and Mythical Five member Andwele Cabanero.
“We’re always in teaching mode. Things that may seem easy at the college or professional level are not automatic to them yet, so you have to start from level one and try to teach them,” Del Rosario said.
“We have to accept that they are being taught different things by their coaches. We’re not saying that what we’re doing is necessarily better than what they do with their own teams but we want them to learn basketball as we need it to build this team. We need everybody to be on the same page.”
This is the time now for these upstart players to prove their worth.
