Norman Black banks on chemistry, veterans for Gilas amid short SEA Games buildup

Newly appointed Gilas Pilipinas head coach Norman Black is facing the challenge of limited preparation time for the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, but the veteran mentor is confident that the right mix of players can make up for the short buildup.

With many members still tied to their professional and overseas teams, Black revealed that Gilas will only be able to hold daily practices about a week before the tournament. To maximize the window, he plans to set weekly sessions in Metro Manila once the roster is finalized.

“After the team is formed, I’m hoping we’ll be able to practice every Monday with the players who are available here in Metro Manila. So as soon as the team is formed, we will start practice immediately,” Black said.

“And then, as we get closer to the games, we’ll probably have about eight or nine days of straight practice going into the SEA Games. And then, once we get there, we’ll probably have a couple of days of practice there. So the preparation is going to be short,” he added.

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Veteran coach Norman Black is determined to assemble the strongest Gilas Pilipinas roster possible as the team gears up for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.

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So far, naturalized stars Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame headline the pool that also features overseas-based talents Ray Parks and Matthew Wright, alongside Remy Martin, Jason Brickman, Dave Ildefonso, and FEU standout Veejay Pre. Black is still eyeing four more players—preferably big men from the collegiate ranks—to round out the squad.

The longtime PBA champion coach underscored that with such a tight window, the emphasis will not be on heavy systems but on chemistry and choosing players who can quickly mesh.

“That’s why I think it’s very, very important that we do a good job at recruiting players that we can put on the floor. If you look at the two points guards I recruited, they are basically veterans (Brickman, Martin) so there will be very little adjustments as far as how the game will be run because they have a lot of experience. So we’ll take that into consideration too,” he explained.

“We have to get guys who can play together very quickly and play together very well because we won’t really have much time to prepare,” Black stressed.

Despite the short runway, Gilas remains determined to reclaim dominance in the SEA Games basketball tournament—a challenge Black is preparing to face with veterans who know how to win and young talents eager to rise.

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