MANILA, Philippines — Former Smart-Gilas men’s national coach Rajko Toroman felt good to be back in Manila, which he calls his "second home" after being away for the last two years to handle the Jordanian national squad.
The Serbian coach is in town to be with the Jordanians, who are in a four-game swing as part of their current buildup for next week’s FIBA Asia men’s championships in Changsa-Hunan, China.
“It is good to be back in Manila,” exclaimed Toroman, who handled the Gilas program from 2008 to 2011.
“I missed the traffic and missed some of my friends here. I feel like I’m coming back home and I will try to see my friends like Charles (Tiu) and Jude (Roque), who were some of my coaching staff before at Gilas,” he added.
Toroman’s return to Manila was triumphant, following Jordan’s 76-73 victory against a retooled Blackwater side in their tuneup match Wednesday at the SGS gym in Quezon City.
The 60-year-old veteran international coach said his team will try to rely on the outside shooting of naturalized player Alex Legion, who played professional basketball in Hungary, Lebanon and Qatar.
“He’s (Legion) a wing guy. He plays position 2 and 3, extremely talented and a very good shooter,” shared Toroman, whose team faces Ginebra on Thursday, GlobalPort on Friday, before concluding their brief Manila visit against Barako Bull on Saturday.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, the 26-year-old Legion led the Jordanians with 16 points, supplying the scoring ammunition for a team that is hoping to regain its once lofty status in Asia following its first-ever silver-medal finish in the 2011 Fiba-Asia men’s edition in Wuhan. China.
Playmaker guard Wesam Al-Sous and big man Mohammad Hussein added 12 points apiece.
Veteran Fiba-Asia campaigners Zaid Abbas and Sam Daghles failed to see action for Jordan, which is bracketed along with host country China, South Korea and Singapore in next week’s regional championships.
Abbas, a rugged 6-foot-8 rebounder, along with Daghles will slowly be reintegrating with Jordan after playing in China and the PBA, respectively in recent months.
“The situation with Jordan now is not looking good because the players don’t have enough games to play,” he said.
“While both (Abbas and Daghles) are very experienced and very professional, it’s different to just play individually. But we hope to spring some surprises.”
Bambam Gamalinda led Blackwater with 16 points while newly-acquired guard Mike Cortez added 15.