Stakeholders of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Rizal gathered for the first time in a long while and drew a huge turnout on Sunday at the Case Room of the STI College Ortigas-Cainta.
No less than multi-titled coaches Yeng Guiao of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Jong Uichico of the NLEX Road Warriors, many-time PBA champion and FIBA World Cup veteran Larry
Fonacier, MPBL rising star and ex-Batang Gilas co-captain Migs Pascual and former San Beda star and now Our Lady of Fatima University coach Ralph Rivera were among those notable attendees.
Local coaches, game officials and directors from the SBP Rizal region also showed up in full force, expressing their enthusiasm at the restart of the organization that is now trying to reactivate its programs under the leadership of BJ Manalo, a former PBA player, who now serves as SBP Rizal’s provincial director.
Guiao served as the keynote speaker as his message didn’t just inspire the attendees but his inputs provided them valuable lessons, particularly in developing new habits during practices that can be adapted in game situations by their players.
“Ang pinakamahirap i-coach, yung mga bata,” said Guiao. “Kami, pagdating ng players sa amin, may naiintindihan na sila, may basics na sila, may skills na sila and mayroon na silang understanding ng game itself.”
‘Pero from the time na nag-start akong mag-coach up to presently, it has been totally different,” added Guiao. “Of course, the game is still basketball. Ang dami nang pinag-iba ng training techniques, ng skill development, ng strategies and approach to the game and even scouting. Ang dami na pong advances.”
One of the key points of Guiao’s discussions from the local or aspiring coaches is to encourage them to veer away from the old practice habits like the three-man weave or shell drill.
“It’s a waste of time,” he added.
Instead, Guiao gave more emphasis on CLA (constraints-led approach) where every practice time, coaches will pick one or two aspects in the game that they want to improve on and from there, they could prepare their practice plan for the day.
“In our practice, we don’t have conditioning. We run for four quarters, but the players do not have conditioning. Conditioning is not fun. Hindi yan gusto nang mga players dahil ang gusto nila, maglaro. Kung makukuha mo ang conditioning mo sa paglalaro, hindi ka kinakailangang mag-planting rice. Hindi ka kailangang mag sprint ng baseline to baseline,” said Guiao.
“If you can also do things on your own, don’t use your practice time that is intended for a team concept. That’s a sacred hour for us. It’s the time when 15 or 12 players will do things together. Kapag may kailangan kang dribbling drills na gusto mong gawin, kahit sa bahay puwede kang mag-dribble. Sa garahe puwede mong gawin yan. Kung gusto mong magpa-condition ng sarili mo kahit sa community court ninyo puwede kang magp[a kundisyon ng sarili mo. If you want to do conditioning, do iot at your own time. Pero alam ninyo, yung mga umaasensong players, they need to be accountable, kasi sila mismo kumakayaod sila based on their effort.”
According to Guiao, coaching young players who are not yet playing professional ball, but he praised the role of the local coaches in nurturing these players as they prepare for the pros.
“Karamihan sa inyo, you’re coaching high school teams or coaching college teams,” said Guiao while addressing the attendees who came all the way as far as Tanay, Rizal. “It will be very messy at the start, but that’s OK. Kasi, nag-uumpisa talaga kayo na magulo. If you see a practice that is well-choreographed, na malinis, that is not a good practice. Good practices are messy, magulo. Because, it is only then that the players are able to translate practices into game situations.”
Right after Guiao shared some valuable things from his coaching philosophy, he was joined in the panel by Uichico, Fonacier, and another former PBA player Emman Monfort while Manalo and Mark Solano of the SBP Coaches’ Academy served as moderators in selecting some of the questions asked by the local coaches.
Manalo promised that the SBP Rizal huddle will jump start more activities while thanking the management of STI headed by president Peter K. Fernandez in hosting the event.
