Erika Dy hopes new Gilas coach puts 'best foot forward' in forming player pool

Erika Dy hopes new Gilas coach puts ‘best foot forward’ in forming player pool

WHILE still unnamed as of posting, newly-minted Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy has high hopes for Gilas Pilipinas’ soon-to-be appointed head coach — more so when it comes to forming the men’s national team player pool.

May it be from the upper echelons of Philippine basketball in leagues like the PBA and MPBL or some of college hoops’ finest in the UAAP and NCAA among others, Dy looks to only have the best of the best in what she envisions to be an eclectic mix of talent for the Gilas program.

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“My position is that we have to send our best players for these national competitions. Senior, elite na ito eh, bakit naman tayo magpapadala ng college or ng amateur? Pero when we say best players of the country, sometimes our best players come from the amateur ranks. Hindi naman laging nasa PBA sila or nasa professional [leagues] na,” Dy told Kom Noli Eala in his Power and Play program on Saturday morning.

Gilas Pilipinas celebration gold medal Asian Games

PHOTO: Jerome Ascaño

But in pursuit of securing the best available players, Dy wants to ensure continuity in the Gilas player pool that will span across multiple cycles of regional and international competitions moving forward.

“Kailangan nating piliin nang mabuti [‘yung player pool]. You say hybrid, but I also do believe na kahit we run in four-year cycles of Fiba competitions, hindi naman maganda rin na parang lahat nu’ng inumpisahan mo — kunyari 33 sila lahat ngayon, so pagkatapos ng Qatar 2027 (World Cup) nasa 37 [years old] na sila, patapos na ‘yung career. Alangang bago na naman lahat ‘yung ilalagay natin, walang continuity.”

Dy added: “Ang maganda for me sana, ‘yung mapili ng ating coach is may mga beterano tayo pero may mga up-and-coming [talents] din. Pero basically, I think the premise is we have to always put our best foot forward and therefore, we should bring our best players.”

As both coaching and player announcements are now imminent, Gilas will soon begin a busy 2024 campaign with the first two of three windows of the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers to be played in February and November 2024 in a home-and-away format.

Midway through the continental cycle, an all-important pursuit for Olympic basketball awaits in the 2024 Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July.