source: Joaquin Henson | philstar.com

Joseph Uichico said yesterday chemistry is an issue the Philippine team must address quickly in preparing for the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championships set in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on July 3-7.

Uichico, 49, will call the shots for the national squad in his first stint as head coach since piloting the Philippines to fourth place at the Asian Games in Busan in 2002. He has captured six titles for San Miguel Beer and two for Barangay Ginebra in the PBA so winning isnt new to the former La Salle cager, now Meralco assistant coach.

But the problem he faces is getting the team together for practice with the departure looming on July 1. Center Marcus Douthit is still in the US and wont be back until early next week. There are players in the 24-man lineup submitted to the SEABA for notification not sure of their availability.

Under SEABA rules, each participating country must initially turn in a 24-man lineup which is then trimmed to 12. The final roster will be confirmed at the team managers meeting on July 2 and may not necessarily be the reduced 12-man cast. The only requirement is the players in the final roster must be picked from the original 24-man pool.

The 24-man pool includes players from the PBA. However, if the teams of the listed PBA players remain in contention in the Governors Cup, they will be excluded from the final 12. The Governors Cup elimination schedule ends July 1. Only players from eliminated PBA teams will be considered for the final roster. Smart Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said the PBAs participation in the SEABA tournament will be clarified in a Board of Governors meeting on June 28. He declined to name the PBA players in the 24-man pool pending notification of the Board and team owners.

Uichico said the reduced 12-man lineup submitted to the SEABA included NLex mainstays Borgie Hermida, Dave Marcelo, Garvo Lanete, Eman Monfort and Woody Co, Cebuana Lhuillier center Vic Manuel, Philippine Patriots forward and Smart Gilas veteran Aldrech Ramos, Smart Gilas captain Chris Tiu and Douthit. Included in the 24-man pool were two other NLex stalwarts Cliff Hodge and Chris Ellis.

We got together just last Monday and we werent even complete, said Uichico. Were hoping to get in some practice time Friday (today) and Saturday. Then, well try to arrange practice games. Were playing La Salle on Thursday at PhilSports Arena and were also playing Ateneo. This is a brand-new team were forming. Its not Gilas, its not Sinag. The talent level isnt as high as either Gilas or Sinag but I think if we get the chemistry we want, well be okay. This tournament is like a bridge to get us to the Stankovic Cup in Tokyo where the best Asian national teams will be playing. Only the SEABA champion will go to Tokyo. Well be playing only four games in Chiang Mai so its a short tournament.

The Philippines has won five of the last six SEABA championships since 2001 and the only miss was in 2005 when Malaysia won with the Philippines disqualified from participation because of its FIBA suspension. Aside from the Philippines and Malaysia, the other SEABA contenders are Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Link:
Chemistry an issue in SEABA tilt