Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will be a curious onlooker when Gilas Pilipinas competes in the FIBA Basketball World Cup that will open on Friday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
In a press briefing, the Filipino-American mentor expressed his intention to see the Filipinos in action as they battle the best teams in the world in this prestigious 32-nation conclave.
Spoelstra is no stranger to Philippine basketball.
He is a frequent Manila visitor and is a good friend of Gilas Pilipinas mentor Chot Reyes.
Last year, he invited Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone to be part of the Heat coaching staff in the National Basketball Association Summer League.\
Now, he’s back in Manila to serve as deputy to Steve Kerr at the United States squad.
“It’s gonna be exciting. I’m going to try and catch their games. You know, Coach Tim and I have connected and I’m hoping to meet up with Coach Chot as well but I haven’t seen a whole lot of them,” said the mild-mannered
tactician, who trained 20 boys and 20 girls on Thursday at the Kerry Arena.
Kerr and assistant coaches Ty Lue and Mark Few also dropped by, sparking excitement among the campers.
“I’m looking forward to watching them play and compete.”
Bannered by a young core of NBA stars such as Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram, Austin Reeves and Jalen Brunson, the Americans will be playing in Group C along with Greece, New Zealand and Jordan.
Gilas Pilipinas, meanwhile, will be playing at the Smart Araneta Coliseum except in the opening salvo where it would compete at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena.
Spoelstra, whose mother hails from San Pablo City in Laguna, couldn’t believe it at first but is now relishing every minute of the World Cup.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found out. I mean, first I had to pinch myself for a moment to be asked to be part of the USA program, it’s something that I have dreamt of for a long time. It has an illustrious history and we’ve all followed the history
of the Team USA program for a long time,” Spoelstra said.
“That’s some historic moment. You just never really think you’re going to have enough to be a part of it so it’s a dream come true and it’s an amazing staff to be working with. Once we found out that it was going to be in Manila, I couldn’t believe it.”
Spoelstra said he wants to conduct more training camps for up-and-coming basketball stars in the future.
“Obviously, growing up my goal and mission was to play in the Philippine Basketball Association and that has always been a dream of mine. My family would send VHS tapes of PBA games and I would see just how crazy the crowds were and I’d say ‘I wanna do that.’ That’s always
part of my plans and I ended up playing overseas for a couple of years and I was going to eventually come home here and play but I kinda rerouted to Miami,” Spoelstra said.
“But once we started going here with the NBA to do clinics and camps, that’s what we really want to be involved in, at the grassroots level.”
