Gilas coaches get pointers on how to beat Middle East teams from Lithuania camp For more than two weeks, the Philippine national men’s basketball team ate, lived, and breathed basketball during its training tour in Lithuania. “That’s because we’ve got nothing to do but play basketball,” said SMART-Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach Jong Uichico. “We practiced twice a day and if there’s a game at night, we had a shootaround in the morning. That’s a real camp out there for us. There’s no wasted moment.” One of the most significant things takeaways from the camp was the exposure for the players to the European style of play as they battled against Lithuanian club and age group teams. Playing against taller opposition also allowed the team’s coaches to get insight about playing against top opposition in the FIBA Asia Championship. “The Middle East countries play like Europeans because their coaches are Europeans,” said Uichico, a veteran coach of the international game. He called the shots for the Philippine team that finished fourth in the 2002 Asian Games, while serving as an assistant coach to Norman Black in the 1994 Asian Games, to Chot Reyes in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, and to Yeng Guiao in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship. Uichico observed changes in the style of play of Europeans, which he believes are also being implemented by Middle East powerhouse squads now. “They’re taller and equally faster. Kung tayo maliliit na mabibilis, sila naman matatangkad na mabibilis,” he said. Former Lithuanian national team coach Kestutis Kemzura worked with the team during the trip, and Uichico said the veteran bench tactician gave the Philippine coaches pointers on how to battle these tactics. Uichico said the pointers from Kemzura will be a big help for the team’s scouting.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 08:33:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015