MANILA, 16 November — The Philippine Basketball Association will be consulting yet again the league’s board of governors as well as experts, and maybe, just maybe, the crystal ball and the magic mirror when it finally decides who should coach the all-PBA team to the prestigious Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, next year.

So who really deserves to coach the Philippine basketball team, huh? Will it be Ron Jacobs, who is being tipped by majority of PBA coaches for the job, or somebody else? The answer will be known this week when the professional league chooses the national coach who will be given a free hand to form yet another all-PBA team to the regional competition.

The PBA has been tasked by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) to carry the country’s colors in the quadrennial meet for the fourth straight time since 1990.

Many consider that the elite crop of today’s PBA players, thanks to tall and talented Fil-Ams, will make the Philippines truly competitive in the Asiad.

Since 1990, when the PBA first represented the country in the Asiad, Filipinos have been obsessed with winning the gold medal in the meet.

For the record, the last time the Philippines won the basketball gold in the Asian Games was in 1962 in Jakarta.

The country also won the cage championships in the inaugural Games in 1951 in New Delhi; in 1956 in Manila; and in 1958 in Tokyo under the tutelage of coach Tito Eduque, who died of lung cancer just recently.

The first time the PBA All Stars, under coach Robert Jaworski, competed in the 1990 Asiad in Beijing, it finished second behind powerhouse China for the silver medal.

Norman Black then took the nucleus of the San Miguel Beer team to the 1994 Asiad in Hiroshima, Japan, where it landed fourth, before Coach Tim Cone steered the Centennial Team to third place in the 1998 edition in Bangkok.

Still, today’s band of tall, hefty and talented PBA players could give the country its best chances of winning the much-coveted gold in Pusan.

Most logical pick

Bernardino will name the coach before the end of the current PBA season, and the coach will, in turn, name the members of his staff and will have a free hand in the formation of the national team.

“We see the wisdom in giving the coach the flexibility to conduct a program within the manageable parameters of the league,” said Bernardino. “It will be his call. Once the PBA name the coach, we will give him the free hand in running the team, and with that goes the prayers of the entire country.” Majority of PBA coaches today, however, are pointing at one man they believe is the most logical choice for the job. That man is no other than Jacobs.

A many-time national team mentor, Jacobs won for the country its last major regional crown in 1984 when he steered a team backstopped by Hector Calma, Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic and reinforced by three Fil-Ams to the gold in the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC). The Filipinos beat the mighty Chinese squad in the final.

Alaska’s Tim Cone, Sta Lucia Realty’s Norman Black, Shell’s Perry Ronquillo, Ginebra’s Allan Caidic and Purefoods’ Eric Altamirano are one in saying that the grizzled veteran bench taskmaster deserves to be given another shot at the Asiad gold that has been held by the Chinese with iron hands since winning it in 1986.

Jacobs, who is currently consultant with sister teams San Miguel and Ginebra in the pro league, can boast of the best record among all coaches in the country today, local or foreigner, when it comes to beating the tall Chinese in major competitions abroad. The PBA, through Bernardino, will make an announcement as to who will coach the national quintet to the quadrennial event in two weeks’ time or no later than Nov. 15.

But if the PBA coaches’ sentiments are to be used as the barometer in picking the national team mentor, the hands-down choice should be Jacobs.

Cone and Black said their fellow Fil-Am strategist was the best man for the job who could bring the regional supremacy back to the country in the sport the Filipinos consider as a virtual religion.

Under Cone, the Filipinos finished third behind the Chinese, the eventual titlists, and the South Koreans, first runners-up, in Bangkok.

Cone earned the right to bring Alaska to the Asiad when he captured back-to-back titles for his mother ballclub in the All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner’s Cup in 1998 in the PBA.

“No doubt about it, Ron would make a great choice,” said Cone.

The multi-titled Cone, who paraded the nucleus of his once-formidable Alaska squad beefed up by blue-chip players from other PBA teams in Bangkok, quipped Jacobs is armed with experience in international tournaments and mental toughness to handle a national team again, although he confessed he’s still aching to get another crack at the gold.

“He can build a good team in a hurry,” said Cone, whose respect and faith in Jacobs was unmatched to the point that, “I have more respect for him than I do Pat Riley or Phil Jackson (NBA champion coaches) because I’ve seen him work up close”.

He revealed that Jacobs should have handled the team to Bangkok, but later begged off.

The Asiad duties would be “too much work” and “I was not exactly a young man anymore. I feel like an old man everyday”, Cone quoted Jacobs as saying long before the former could form his final Centennial Team lineup.

“That’s why I still think Jong (Uichico, the Beermen’s head coach) would also be a great choice (as the national team coach) because Ron would always be there to guide him. Even Allan (Caidic of the Kings) would be okay too, but he’s admittedly still a developing coach while Jong’s already a bit polished, what with all his titles already,” Cone said.

Black, whose national squad to the 1994 Hiroshima edition failed to land a medal after finishing fourth, said Jacobs could best harness the “enormous” pool of farm-fresh talent in the PBA what with the emergence of more tall, hefty and talented Fil-Ams.

“For practical reasons,” Blacks reasoned out, “Ron will be the ideal man to handle the team.” Taking into great consideration the possibility of teams in the PBA and the league as a whole bearing the brunt of “imbalance” should a national coach be taken away from any one of them, Black noted that “Ron is the logical choice.” “Now is really our best chance to win the Asiad gold because of the talent we now have here,” said Black. “If we add that to the same preparation the Centennial Team got four years ago plus a little more role players here and there, then I think there’s no reason why we can’t beat China this time,” other coaches like Altamirano and Ronquillo threw their support to Jacobs due to their “great respect” for him while acknowledging their lack of experience in international events, especially playing against the zone defenses that are outlawed in the PBA.

“I think I’m not ripe for the Asiad job yet. And I have no problem seeing Jacobs coach the team,” Ronquillo said. “Whatever’s the best for the country, that’s what I’m for.” “Coach Ron is fine by me. He knows all our players as well as any of us (coaches) do, and I’m sure with his experience playing versus the Chinese he’ll figure out how to gear the team to beat them,” Altamirano said.

Only the legendary Jaworski, now a senator, is still the only purely Filipino coach to handle the national team since the pro league sealed its Asiad commitment with the BAP in 1990.

Adapting zone defense

In a bold move that would hopefully make the PBA players adapt better to international play — which, basically, has been their weakness in the past — Bernardino proposed to the league’s board of governors several rules changes that will take effect in the 2002 season.

Among those rule changes include being proposed by Bernardino were the introduction of the zone defense, shorter quarters and less time to cross the half court line.

The zone defense will be allowed as Asia’s pioneering and best-run professional basketball league practically embraces an international image just to make sure the surroundings will more or less be the same when the Philippines battles the towering players from China, which is the traditional favorite.

Practically, the whole world plays zone defense. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has also adapted the zone as it now feels threatened by other countries in the Olympics and World Basketball Championship. All the teams in Asia, Europe and South America also play zone.

“We want to make these changes work,” Bernardino said. “After all, our main goal is to win the Asian Games gold. But to do it, we must do what is necessary to ensure victory in South Korea, and that includes playing the zone defense.” From the present 48 minutes, game time will be reduced to 40 as each quarter would be shortened to 10 minutes from 12. The time allowed an offensive team to bring the ball to the other side would also be reduced from 10 to eight seconds in conformity with the International Basketball Federation (IBF) rules.

These are three major changes that Bernardino proposed to the league’s board of governors during their monthly meeting last week. Other than these changes, he’s also batting for the early formation of the team.

Bernardino is looking forward to their approval once the BAP-PBA agreement is signed.

“I think the members of the Board are very open-minded and are one with the league’s goals in doing what is necessary to ensure victory in South Korea,” said Bernardino. “We want to give the Asian Games our best shot and we hope that these changes would, indeed, help us in winning the gold in Pusan.” Bernardino expressed optimism that the country’s chances of bringing home the Asiad gold will be enhanced by the presence of tall, hefty and talented Fil-Ams, such as Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, Danny Seigle, Davonn Harp, Ali Peek and Noy Castillo, who will be backed up by homegrown players like Danny Ildefonso, Marlou Aquino, Jun Limpot and Dennis Espino, among others.