GILAS Pilipinas can’t stay idle for too long.
Coach Tab Baldwin said he is set to meet with officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to discuss their plans this year and in 2022 with hopes of sustaining the gains they had.
“We’re moving towards a meeting with management where we will try to lay out the plan for the rest of 2021 and into 2022,” Baldwin said last Saturday on Radyo5 92.3 News FM’s Power and Play program hosted by former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala.
“We can’t let the gains that we’ve made get rusty,” he added.
Baldwin insisted on the need for the SBP’s program to have continuity.
“We need to get back on the court, so I suspect the players will get a couple of more weeks off and then we’ll see at that time what the protocols will be. Will we be able to get into a gym and go home at night and train that way like this normal? Or will we have to go back into a bubble? So, we don’t exactly know,” Baldwin said.
“But we can’t take that much time off because this is a program. A program needs functionality, and this is a development program. You don’t develop by sitting at home playing your PS4. So, we will be talking about this.”
The first window of the Asian qualifiers for the 2023 FIBA World Cup the Philippines is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia will be in November this year with a home-and-away format anew.
Next year will see Gilas plunging to action in the second window from February 21 to March 1; the third window from June 27 to July 5; the fourth window from August 22 to 30; the fifth window from November 7 to 15; and the sixth window from February 20 to 28, 2023.
Gilas will also do battle in the Asia Cup in Indonesia in July next year; the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25; and the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in a still-to-be-determined date next year.
The Filipino cagers have their work cut out for them, according to Baldwin.
“What it really does is it puts extremely heavy schedule into 2022, the windows, the Asia Cup, the Asian Games, and the Southeast Asian Games. So, we have a very full schedule which is exciting, but it also means that we’ve got a lot of work to do to get prepared for that,” he said.
“But it’s a great way to head into 2023 which is the World Cup here. We’re going to get a lot of information, a lot of preparation, and that’s exactly what we’re looking for and we’re looking forward to it.”
