Serbian coach assures fighting chance for RP

Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, who has accepted the offer to handle the country’s long-term national team program, believes no less than seven teams including the Philippines will have an equal chance of winning the crown in the 2011 FIBA Asia championship.

In agreeing to run the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas program, Toroman didn’t guarantee the championship but a fighting chance for the crown and a slot in the 2012 Olympics in London.

The SBP and Toroman are to sign tomorrow a three-year contract with an option for a one-year extension should the Philippines qualify for the London Games.

Toroman foresees a wide-open race among the Philippines, China, Korea, Japan, Iran, Jordan and Kazakhstan in the 2011 Asian joust.

The Serbian mentor counted out Lebanon and Qatar for the 2011 crown, believing the core of their current teams would already be old for that tourney.

The Lebanese, also under a Serbian coach and playing with a naturalized center in Joseph Vogel, made the 2004 World Championship in Indiana. The Qataris, under an American coach and with their own naturalized players, have become consistent contender in the region the last few years.

Toroman said Korea and Japan have young players who should already be forces to reckon with by 2011.

Nonetheless, the 53-year-old mentor believes the Philippines can put up a fight with the natural talent of the Filipino players.

“There is tremendous potential in Philippine basketball, maybe two or three times more than in Iran which has no high school and college program,” said Toroman, the engineer of Iran’s conquest of the FIBA-Asia championship in Tokushima, Japan last year.

“Iran won the FIBA-Asia title because of Hamed Hadadi who is 7-2. He was the only player to average a double double in Beijing and that’s why he just signed a three-year contract with Memphis in the NBA. I think the Philippines could use a big man in the middle like Hadadi. The Philippines has excellent outside players but it needs a post presence to open up more options on offense. FIBA allows a country to recruit one naturalized player and many countries do it.”

SBP executive director Noli Eala said they’re likely to use the option with a number of US-based Filipino agents now offering to help in the search.

Coach Yeng Guiao himself wonders if he can take a naturalized player for the separate PBA-backed RP team he’s to form for next year’s FIBA-Asia championship.

Toroman is to form his team from the amateur ranks. He said his idea is to select 15 young players then train them together for the next three years.

“Why 15? Because I think that’s the ideal number to train them. If you get more than that, you’ll just keep some of the players on the bench,” said Toroman.

He’s mentioned to Eala Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Chris Tiu, Nonoy Baclao, Ryan Buenafe, Rico Maierhofer, JV Casio, Ogie Menor, Jake Pascual, Mark Sena, John Wilson and Arvy Bringas as the players he’s considering for the pool.

They will also look for possible Fil-Am recruits as they hold a Fil-Am camp in the US early next year.

Toroman starts running the RP program as soon as next month. He goes home in Serbia Wednesday and returns to the country on Oct. 20.