Mentoring young Gilas Pilipinas team a 'tremendous pleasure' for coach Tab Baldwin

Tab Baldwin is used to coaching experienced teams of professionals - so this young Gilas Pilipinas team was a bit of a change of pace.

The seasoned mentor said Monday that orchestrating a program for this current Gilas team, which is set to compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia, has entailed a lot more teaching, especially considering what stage these players are in their basketball careers.

"It’s very different from coaching a typical national team or professional team because you turn everything into a lesson and we have to because there is so much to learn," Baldwin said in a press conference.

"But the other part of it, I think coaching young players is a tremendous pleasure because you get great enthusiasm and great attention to everything they’re striving to learn because they want to be professional and earn a living."

In the past, Baldwin has handled teams that are elite national teams, such as New Zealand, Jordan, and Lebanon, and powerhouse clubs, like the Auckland Stars in the National Basketball League (NBL), where he won five titles and was named Coach of the Year four times.

The 63-year-old tactician has also previously coached a Gilas side that is composed mainly of professional cagers from the PBA.

His coaching resume, though, does include plenty of success with a collegiate squad in Ateneo de Manila in recent years as well.

"Everything we’re doing,  particularly on the international stage now is not just new for us as a team but it’s new for almost all of the players, I think all of the players as individuals," he said.

"So everything is a lesson and at the same time, we have to respect these talented players and these are the players that have earned the right to represent their country."

Without the presence of any PBA player, Gilas will be bannered by youngsters like Kai Sotto, SJ Belangel, Isaac Go, and RJ Abarrientos.

Also making the 12-man roster are Justine Baltazar, Geo Chiu, Jordan Heading, Will Navarro, and Mike Nieto, who are tipped to be essential pieces in their assignments against Serbia on July 1 and Dominican Republic on July 2.

Go-to guy Dwight Ramos, rising youngster Carl Tamayo, and naturalized big man Angelo Kouame, however, are all not at 100 percent owing to injury.

"The balancing act of teaching, and fighting, competing is something that the coaching staff is working on all the time," added Baldwin.

—Bea MIcaller/JMB, GMA News