Norman Black is under no illusion that Gilas Pilipinas can easily bowl over the opposition when the Philippines defend its Southeast Asian Games men’s gold championship in basketball set to start on December 9 in Thailand.
The 67-year-old Black has been recently tasked to handle the Gilas squad that will particularly play and defend the country’s men’s basketball crown in the biennial conclave.
This will mark the first time in 14 years since Black led a Philippine team bannered by collegiate stars that rolled past the opposition en route to retaining the gold medal in the SEA Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Much has changed ever since.
“I’ve done it before, I did it in Indonesia,” Black said in an interview at Power and Play over the weekend. “We’re lucky enough to win the gold medal that year. We did it with college players.” Kiefer Ravena, Bobby Ray Parks, Greg Slaughter, Garvo Lanete, along with Filipino-Americans Chris Ellis and Cliff Hodge bannered the national team composed of college players, dominating their regional rivals en route to ruling the 2011 edition in Jakarta.
But that era of seeing the Philippines dominate the region with college players alone may not be a reality anymore, according to Black.
“Things have changed when we take a look at basketball in Southeast now. It’s something that we’re supposed to win because we’re supposed to have superior talent in Southeast Asia,” reasoned Black.
“But teams have improved, so it’s not as quite as easy at it used to be but I still believe we have the talent to get it done if we get the best players,” he added.
The Philippines saw its myth invincibility shattered during the SEA Games in Vietnam in 2022 when Gilas, under coach Chot Reyes lost the gold to Indonesia.
That loss marked the end of the Philippines' SEA Games basketball reign since the country won the gold in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The year after, Gilas managed to regain the gold, but not after going through some anxious moments, having lost to host country Cambodia in the elimination phase, before getting back at the Cambodians in the finals.
With the Gilas squad under Black, the American mentor added La Salle star Mike Phillips, Ateneo stretch big Kymani Ladi, as well as veteran Thirdy Ravena into the mix, raising the number of players to 11.
Weeks back, Black named eight players into the team led by naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame, Parks, Matthew Wright, Remy Martin, Jason Brickman, Dave Ildefonso, and collegiate standout Veejay Pre.
“We have 11 guys who have committed. Actually, we have 12, but I’m leaving the last slot open, because I’m trying to recruit another big guy,” Black said. “Thailand does have big guys that play well, they’re good players so we have to have a lineup where we can match up.” The 12th spot could be any potential talent available in the backyard.
And that could have been Filipino-American big man Quentin Millora-Brown or even wingman Jamie Malonzo, who just a few days back, got cut by his Japanese squad Kyoto Hannaryz in the B.League.
But Black explained that things have changed, as far as QMB is concerned.
“To be quite honest with you, his agent might not be too happy with me, but he actually committed to play. His agent committed him to play,” bared Black in the sports program hosted by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala and Jera Sison.
“Things changed when he got his passport. Now, he is committed to play for the men’s team. What can I do about that? I only go by what they say. But in the beginning, he was actually committed to play for this team,” he added.
The 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown is expected to make his debut with Gilas for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, where the national squad is begins its first window against Guam.
As of the time being, the member nations participating in the December SEA Games has agreed to operate under the “passport only” rule, which means players will be alllowed to play for the national team as long as they have a passport of the country that they will be playing for.
But then again, Black admitted he’s waiting for the final decision since there has been rumors on the possibility of “FIBA rules” being employed. If the FIBA rules will be applied, that means players will have to have secured their passports for the country they will play for before the age of 16. Should this rule be enforced, Black admitted his current 11-man roster could be reduced to just five players.
“I’m just hoping they don’t change [rules] this late in the day and I say that because we made our pool based on the first rules. So now, we have a lot of players, mostly in the PBA, who are not being given permission to play with the national team in the SEA Games, so those guys will be completely out,” he explained.
