The Tab Baldwin issue
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Thomas Anthony Baldwin made New Zealand his home. He had a successful basketball coaching career way down under and with his achievements with the Tall Blacks, New Zealand’s national team, received the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003.
Baldwin had club coaching stints in Turkey, Greece and Romania then coached the Malaysian, Lebanese and Jordanian national basketball teams before crash landing on you, Philippines, at the end of 2014. He officially became Gilas head coach vice Chot Reyes at the start of 2015. The following year, Reyes was re-appointed as head coach with Baldwin remaining with Gilas as consultant.
Ateneo hired him as coach in December 2015 but because the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines objected, was instead appointed as team consultant. Given the coaching reins, he piloted the Blue Eagles to 3 consecutive UAAP titles winning over De LaSalle in 2017, UP in 2018 and UST last year.
With multiple international coaching experience, it is automatic for someone like Baldwin to gain superior basketball knowledge over local coaches who had minimal overseas exposure. It’s not only about talent, which we now have, but how and what techniques are to be used in developing and improving the talents on hand. Imagine a loaded CESAFI selection being handled by an inter-barangay coach from Mantalongon.
There are two ways to handle criticisms – positively and confrontationally. When somebody pulls me aside and privately tells me that my articles suck and there’s a need to change the way I write, I would be grateful because at least someone reads them. But when the same critique, delivered in a different way and made available for public consumption, then that’s another story. You are pouring suka’ng pinakurat to an already wounded ego.
We are a proud, aggressive yet gentle race. We are clannish, and there is that tendency to resist change and the occasional challenges to authority. The city re-infected with CoVid is an example of pagahi-ay sa ulo. When someone, especially a foreigner, decides to have things his way in a not so suitable manner, most definitely it gets an equally unsuitable reaction. Remember Lapu-Lapu and Magellan?
When supposed flaws in the handling of the pro league and the “tactical immaturity” of coaches were broadcasted by Baldwin, people concerned went hyper ballistic, and who would not. He could have good intentions when he said that, but it was just not the proper forum and he said he was taken out of context, kuno.
Some of his statements were legit and maybe it’s about time not only for the pro league but as well as commercial leagues and national sports associations to consider upgrading, improving or overhauling people and systems. There’s too much politicking that it has stunted the growth of sports in the country, pro basketball included.
There are frequent coaching seminars and clinics and Baldwin should at least share his coaching knowledge in affordable sessions because majority of participants come from around the community and teach at the grassroots level. Yes, we have competent coaches and there are a good number of them teaching the basics overseas, not only in basketball.
Coaching in the UAAP is an insult to his credentials and one way to prove his “superiority” over local coaches is to let him handle the PBA team he’s currently a consultant or coach a lower-tiered PBA team for one conference and see if he can do the same wonders he did during his time in New Zealand. Maybe the coach who last piloted Gilas to 32nd place will become a big believer in him.
From being honored in New Zealand for his contribution to basketball, Tab Baldwin is now penalized by the PBA for his comments “detrimental to the league”. I hope things will get settled sooner as personally, he has the capability to whip Gilas to world respectability.
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