As Smart Gilas Pilipinas begins it's final push and with the 2012 Olympic berth at stake in less than three weeks, attention has unfortunately focused on Coach Rajko Toroman's expiring contract. After October 15, Toroman's contract expires and the question is, will MVP renew his contract?
MVP is his own man and he makes his own decisions, but he has to fully understand the Toroman effect. As with great art, greatness is not in the flashy colors or the lovely shapes, but in the detail.
Skill Set
If you watched the PBA draft last Sunday, you've seen the evidence first hand. Seven of the first round's 10 draft picks were from Toroman's Smart Gilas, but that's not the evidence I was talking about. Of course, since the Gilas players are composed of the country's best college players 3 years ago, they would naturally be picked early. Here's the thing though. Look at what the PBA is getting now. JVee Casio has become a full time, clutch point guard, just three years after costing La Salle a UAAP championship when he couldn't buy a bucket to save his team in the 4th quarter. Chris Lutz has developed a strong drive to the hoop two years after he was sought for just his three point shooting. Marcio Lassiter has evolved into a defensive hound. Mac Baracael, who was known more for being shot at (with a gun) than anything else, has become a legitimate power forward who can shoot the three, box out 7 footers and drive to the basket. Is anyone really questioning Marc Barroca's heart now?Jason Ballesteros's potential has gone from Samigue Eman to Erik Menk really fast and look ma, Dylan Ababou can play the small forward position and play D! Yes, all 7 Gilas players would still have been picked, but without Toroman, the PBA teams wouldn't be this happy. All 7 (instead of probably 3) have become legit PBA players with star potential.
Fight, No Flight
When Iran manhandled Gilas in this year's Jones Cup semi-final, very few realized that it was Gilas' worst loss in its short but busy history. Apart from that particular loss, Gilas with it's current line up, had never lost by over 15 points in more than 2 occasions in the dozens of games I've seen or read about, as far as I can remember, and that includes the game against the NBA selection led by Kobe Bryant. Maybe once or twice, but the thing, is the system Toroman has put into place allows the team to stay in contention in every game. Opposing coaches always praise the Philippines, but even their praise has changed. Gone are the usual, "Philippines has great players with great individual skills." Most praise that come out of their mouths now are things like, "Philippines is a great team and they execute very well." When the praise gets more technical and less generic, you know we're creeping into the coaches' minds.
Play No. 3
Few things will define Smart Gilas more than play number 3, where the two big men provide a double high screen on both sides of the ball handler's defender. The play is a scout-proof play as it provides plenty of options and makes all five players on the court a possible shooter. Gilas uses this effectively and if anyone cares to notice, several PBA teams and UAAP teams have already begun using the play as well. I actually saw this used in the PBA Governors' Cup and in the current UAAP season. As with everything else, isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
If you look at Coach Toroman on the sidelines, you'd want to give this guy a hug. He keeps shouting, talking and jumping about; he seems genuinely angry all the time. Then, when you pay more attention to the details, that's when you realize he's not. He's in his element because he's teaching. He strives to teach his players to become better ballers and later on better men. That is where his greatness lies. He developed a motley crew of college stars into a team of sterling young men armed with an unwavering discipline and a fighting heart the country can and should be proud of. That is the Toroman effect.
Just renew him MVP.
draft picture courtesy of interaksyon.com
3 comments:
Great article but I guess this is a bit premature. Let us all wait for the result of FIBA Asia two weeks from now. Will he still stay if we finish 7th or 8th in Wuhan? It took him three years to assemble this team. We have been patiently waiting for this FIBA ASIA for 3 years now. We hope to have good results. All other tourneys are irrelevant. FIBA Asia is what matters. I am not saying that we should win it--just a respectable finish po. Top 3 will be fine. Top 4-5 may be enough for him to stay. Top 6-8? lol. I dont know. MVP knows the word "output". He is a businessman afterall. Yeng Guaio-led National team in 2009 Tianjin placed 8th with four months preparation. It is very important for Gilas to finish respectably so as to retain Toroman. I guess this would be a great tribute to coach Rajko from the players especially the PBA draftees to, once and for all, compete to the highest level.(Baka kasi since my contracts na sa PBA clubs di na sila 100% for fear of injuries. Sana todo bigay pa rin) Respectable result in Wuhan will retain coach Rajko. Good luck Gilas. We all support you guy. Since we all hope to see Coach Rajko in the next 2 years, we all will pray for Gilas' respectable finish in Wuhan. Go Gilas. Cant wait. --jen
Good points and analysis. Case in point, Gilas are built from amongst amateur standouts while Guiao's Team are built from the so called best players in the country. So the three years spend by Toroman in the team is understandably logical for a very young team. Coach Yeng didn't have to wait for his players to improve on their game. He basically has ripend fruits for his disposal. Coach Toroman indeed have a good system. Testament to this is the team rarely being blown out regardless of the strength of their opponents. One thing I noticed is he doesn't seem to experiment much on his lineup such as trying to much up with his own tall lineup. Should coach T stay? Could have someone done better than him considering the players he had? Would he have done better had he been given the chance to form an all Pro team even for 4 months? Of course there's the economics side as maintaining a coach of such as it does not just cost pennies. I say retain coach T if we can. World Championship berth is more realistic IMHO.-kangaroo
Good points and analysis. Case in point, Gilas is built from amongst amateur standouts while Guiao's Team is built from the so called best players in the country. So the three years spend by Toroman in the team is understandably logical for a very young team. Coach Yeng didn't have to wait for his players to improve on their game. He basically has ripend fruits for his disposal. Coach Toroman indeed have a good system. Testament to this is the team rarely being blown out regardless of the strength of their opponents. One thing I noticed is he doesn't seem to experiment much on his lineup such as trying to much up with his own tall lineup. Should coach T stay? Could have someone done better than him considering the players he had? Would he have done better had he been given the chance to form an all Pro team even for 4 months? Of course there's the economics side as maintaining a coach of such as it does not just cost pennies. I say retain coach T if we can. World Championship berth is more realistic IMHO. The FIBA quals in Wuhan will indeed be one of the major factors if coach T will stay.-kangaroo
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