Racing against time, youthful Gilas a positive sight for interim mentor Uichico ahead of Bahrain bubble

Even armed with vast experience manning the sidelines, interim Gilas Pilipinas head coach Joseph Uichico could not get more excited than ever when the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas have tapped him to lead the youthful side in the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers which will be held in a bubble in faraway Bahrain six days from now.

The team, which has the crème de la crème of the college scene, will have a daunting challenge against Indonesia and Thailand in a short Group A which was reeling by the shock withdrawal of mortal enemy South Korea owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Already a veteran of the two gold-medal winning teams in the Southeast Asian Games as well as being the tactician of the fabled yet ill-fated 2002 Asian Games squad, the evergreen mentor has the most inexperienced side the country has fielded, as there was no space for even the Japan-based Thirdy Ravena in the sixteen-strong pool in which they have not played even a single second as professionals.

For him, it will be a welcome challenge to coach them, in which he had help in the form of Tab Baldwin and Boyet Fernandez, with the former concurrently holds a huge role in the SBP as the program director of Gilas.

Meanwhile, the San Beda tactician will serve as his deputy, in which he was part of the 2002 squad as a reserve in Busan which was led by the protégé of the late Ron Jacobs.

“It’s a welcome challenge. It’s something new,” Uichico expressed last Thursday on SBP's online media conference. “And we’re trying to do the best we can in trying to make them ready for the international game.”

The familiarity issue has been quickly addressed, knowing that he had played a part on their development as early as two years ago, with the majority of the cagers selected were part of the ill-fated 23 for ’23 pool of former Gilas tactician Chot Reyes, in which the nine-time PBA champion took the coaching cudgels at the FilOil tilt in 2018.

Among those are Ateneo’s Matt Nieto and Isaac Go, and UP’s Juan Gomez De Liano and Kobe Paras, with the high-leaping son of the Tower of Power being lone holdover from Uichico’s most recent national team duty in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

With the team scampering for time as they are in their training bubble in Calamba, Laguna, Coach Jong has made sure that there will be no stone left unturned in their build-up, with twice-a-day training sessions being conducted before their flight to the Gulf nation, and hoping to have the same thing by the time they land in Manama.

He added, “That’s why we’re trying to keep things as simple as possible. Things that they can comprehend and execute the best way they can.”

As the eight-month layoff took a toll on their fitness, they have no other option but to shrug off any nagging aches and pains they might have on their body, especially when they were handicapped when former San Sebastian sniper Allyn Bulanadi reportedly dislocated his shoulder just two days into their bubble.

“We have not time to complain our little hurts here and there because it’s going to be normal.”

With that, the youthful aspect of Gilas is a plus for him, as it will be the element of surprise to their ASEAN Rivals, who have elected to parade their most experienced players, with Indonesia getting their biggest boost as former CLS Knight Brandon Jawato gets the FIBA nod to play as a local that enabled Rajko Toroman to field in Lester Prosper as their naturalized reinforcement.

He remarked, “Yes we might lack experience, yes we might lack some size, but the energy that they will give us will be a positive advantage that we can use in our games.”

FILE PHOTOS: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, FIBA