Baldwin, Arespacochaga, Others to Reinforce Dickel's Gilas Coaching Staff

One way or another, Gilas Pilipinas Interim Head Coach Mark Dickel's job will be a difficult one as he will be in charge of spearheading the national team's preparations for the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in which the Filipinos will face Thailand and Indonesia later this month. While the SBP has already announced who will be included in the training pool, the task of finalizing the final 12 falls into the hands of the TNT KaTropa's team consultant. Fortunately, he will get tons of help.

Tab Baldwin, the architect behind the Ateneo Blue Eagles' romp to an 18-0 sweep of the UAAP Season 82 Men's Basketball Tournament, is tapped as a member of Mark Dickel's coaching staff for this month's games. Incidentally, Baldwin is currently the program director of the national team as well as a former coach of the team so his insights will definitely help Dickel. Along with the mastermind behind Ateneo's seeming unstoppability, his lead assistant, Sandy Arespacochaga will be joining Baldwin as well. Arespacochaga is serving as the man at the helm for Gilas Pilipinas Youth team and like Baldwin, has already been a part of the coaching staff of Gilas Pilipinas in the past. Both Baldwin and Arespacochaga are no longer strangers to the national team.

And while Dickel will have two Ateneo coaches on board, they won't be the only ones who are set to join the coaching staff of the national squad. Former Alaska Aces Coach Alex Compton is also eyed as a member of Dickel's staff as well as Lyceum Pirates Coach Topex Robinson.

Now, how will the names that are mentioned going to help Dickel?

For starters, the said 24-man pool has 8 Ateneo products who at one point, played for Tab Baldwin or Sandy Arespacochaga namely Isaac Go,  Matt and Mike Nieto, Kiefer and Thirdy  Ravena, Japeth Aguilar, Poy Erram, and Dwight Ramos who will make his college debut in Season 83 for the Blue and White. 9 if you count former Blue Eaglet and soon-to-be-returning Blue Eagle Dave Ildefonso. Why is this important? Isaac Go, Thirdy Ravena, and the Nieto brothers played for Baldwin when Ateneo ruled the UAAP last season. Familiarity with their plays. 

On the other hand, the pending inclusion of Compton and Robinson, both proven veteran coaches during their careers in the PBA and the NCAA, can help Dickel in devising game plans. 

But more than anything else, it's Baldwin's inclusion that is going to be a big boost for the national team as at one point, he was even considered to take back his former job as coach of Gilas Pilipinas so him being a member of Dickel's staff will help ease things out especially with the college players who are included in the pool. 

Photo is from Business World