Salud mulls adjusting PBA sked

MANILA, Philippines - The decision will depend on approval by the PBA Board of Governors but league commissioner Chito Salud said the other day he’s considering to recommend adjusting the next season’s calendar to allow an extended training period for the national team bound for the FIBA World Cup in Spain.

At the moment, the PBA is set up to start the next season with the Philippine Cup on Nov. 17-Feb. 26. Then, it’s the Commissioner’s Cup on March 7-May 21 and finally, the Governors Cup on June 1-Aug. 13. The All-Star break will be on May 22-25. The FIBA World Cup is scheduled on Aug. 30-Sept. 14.

“We’ll be doing doubleheaders four days a week in the eliminations throughout the season,” said Salud. “We’re actually doing this in the ongoing Governors Cup. If the playoffs go the distance, we’ll end next season’s third conference on Aug. 13 which gives us less than three weeks before the start of the World Cup. If we do doubleheaders five days a week, we might be able to add two or three weeks to the training period of the national team. I don’t know if that will be enough. I’ll sit down with coach Chot (Reyes) soon to discuss the possibilities.”

Salud said supporting the Asian Games will also be under consideration. “Everything will depend on our talks with the SBP,” he continued. “We will make recommendations to the PBA Board. One option is for the national team to be composed of six cadet players and six pros in the Asian Games. Or we could send an all-pro team outside of Gilas. Another option is for Gilas to represent the country in the Asian Games which will be held just a few weeks after the end of the World Cup.”

The Asian Games will be staged in Incheon, South Korea, on Sept. 19-Oct. 4. At the last Asian Games in Doha in 2010, the Philippines finished sixth in basketball behind China, South Korea, Iran, Japan and Qatar in that order. The Philippine team included Asi Taulava, Greg Slaughter, Jvee Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Mac Baracael, Mark Barroca, Chris Tiu and Kelly Williams. The country hasn’t claimed a medal at the Asian Games since Tim Cone coached the Centennial squad to a bronze in 1998.

Salud said Gilas’ silver showing at the recent FIBA-Asia Championships reestablished the identity of the Filipino game. “Our performance did wonders,” he said. “First, it reestablished our identity as a power in Asian basketball. Second, it showed our character as a nation. And third, it gave us national pride. To those who didn’t believe we could compete with the big boys of Asia, we proved our capability.”

Salud said Gilas’ strength was evident throughout the tournament. “Guys like Marc (Pingris) and Jayson (Castro) exemplified our strength not only physically but also mentally,” he added. “We were at a disadvantage in height and heft. Maybe in several more years, we can develop the size and bulk. Our guys never gave up, we weren’t afraid to mix it up. That’s the great equalizer, our character and sense of pride. I think our team was one of the oldest if not the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 30 years old when the rest averaged about 27. We also averaged 6-3 in height which is our average in the PBA. We may have been older but our experience carried us through. In a broad sense, Gilas represented the state of Philippine basketball, the best in the PBA.”

Regarding the physicality in the international game, Salud said Gilas was ready for the bumping and grinding. “In the past three years, we adopted a philosophy in the PBA where we allowed incidental contact,” he said. “I think that got our guys ready for the international game. The fact that we play 10 months in a year also got us ready because in international play, games are held back-to-back almost every day.”

Salud said adjusting to FIBA rules is something that pros will easily do in the course of an 11-day tournament. “Remember, Gilas is made up of experienced pros who know what it takes to win,” he said. “You can’t teach strength and experience. Those are given attributes. Our guys came out to play using their strength and experience and learned how to adjust to the FIBA rules as the tournament went on. I’m very proud that Gilas showed FIBA our brand of Philippine basketball which reflects the high level of play in the PBA.”

Salud said he’s open to tweaking next season’s schedule for Gilas. “We could advance the schedule so Gilas has more time to train for the World Cup and if the SBP decides, the Asian Games,” he said. “I’m sure coach Chot will propose a schedule where the Gilas players can get together for practice during the season so the chemistry stays strong. We’re not making any commitments as yet. The PBA Board will decide on how we go about coordinating with Gilas and the SBP.”

The Philippines hasn’t played at the FIBA World Cup, previously known as the World Championships, since Manila hosted the event in 1978. Nic Jorge coached the team to a winless record. And the national team hasn’t won a FIBA World Cup game since beating the Central African Republic, 87-86, at the 1974 tournament in Puerto Rico. The Philippines wound up 13th of 14 that year with a squad made up of Jimmy Mariano, Joy Cleofas, Tembong Melencio, Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Abet Guidaben, Ramon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Yoyong Martirez, Manny Paner, Dave Regullano and Big Boy Reynoso. Before beating the Central African Republic, the Philippines claimed its only other win in a 101-100 squeaker over Australia. The Philippines’ leading scorers were Adornado (18.0 points a game), Jaworski (14.3), Paner (11.9) and Fernandez (10.4).