The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ dismal showing in the recently concluded William Jones Cup is a huge eye-opener for coach Yeng Guiao.
In an interview with SPIN POV on Tuesday, Guiao admitted the painful truth: the quality of Philippine basketball is lagging behind its Asian counterparts.
“Masakit mang aminin, pero meron na tayong ganung factor na medyo iwan tayo sa Asia,” the multi-tilted PBA coach said.
“Kahit ‘yung college basketball sa US, European style na: ikot ng bola, pabilisan, three-point shooting, ‘yung mga malalaki nila, hindi mo pwede iwan. Wala ng isolation. Puro ball movement na lang,” Guiao added, describing the way US NCAA Division I school UC Irvine played against them.
“Ang bilis ng progress ng basketball sa kanila,” Guiao continued. “Syempre, worried na worried ako dahil iwan na iwan na tayo.”
Rain or Shine finished the Jones Cup with just two wins against six losses. Their worst loss was against UC Irvine, where they suffered a 54-point blowout.
With lessons learned, Guiao has some suggestions on how to improve Philippine basketball.
“We need to train coaches. Parang nakakalimutan natin ‘yung training ng coaches, eh hindi ka makaka-produce ng magaling na players or athletes kung ‘yung coaches natin hindi upgraded ‘yung skills nila. Kasi ang dami na rin from the coaching standpoint, ang dami na ring nabago,” Guiao added.
“Marami ng concepts sa youth basketball, ginagamit na sa ibang bansa, pero tayo, traditional pa rin ‘yung pagtuturo natin ng basketball sa mga bata, na hindi na ganun ang pagtuturo. Ang pagtuturo ng basketball sa bata ngayon, hindi lang skills. Pati ‘yung aspect ng decision-making, ‘yung technology ng conditioning, nag-iba na eh,” he said. (MJD)
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