Tab Baldwin 'pleasantly surprised' at planned FIBA 'bubble'

MANILA, Philippines – The recent announcement of FIBA of its planned "mini bubbles" of the continental cup qualifiers has taken Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin by surprise.

While he did not expect the federation to propose a resumption to tournaments so soon, Baldwin said he is more delighted than anything else.

"I'm just happy to see that you know more parts of the world are starting to come back online... The fact that FIBA wants to do it in November is a little bit of a surprise but let's view it as a pleasant surprise," Baldwin told the media in a Zoom call on Monday.

"We're gonna get back to playing basketball, and hopefully we can be part of the landscape of returning the world to some sort of normalcy," he added.

On hiatus since February, Gilas will need to prepare for the 2021 Asia Cup Qualifiers against South Korea and Thailand by November.

The nationals were originally supposed to play against the Koreans and the Thais on November 27 and 30, respectively.

The two games were supposed to be played on the road, but the "bubble" set up will likely create neutral ground.

"It's gonna be interesting how that plays out," said Baldwin.

With the FIBA "bubble" only announced last week, Baldwin says that there is nothing set in stone yet for what awaits Gilas in November.

Much of the details of the "bubble" have yet to be discussed, with venues and number of teams per "bubble" yet to be finalized.

"It's just so early to make any definitive statements about what will be but in general I'm pleased that we're gonna be back playing basketball soon," he said.