Pinoy coach Vanguardia ready to meet Gilas in FIBA Champ's Cup

A Filipino coach will try to use his familiarity with the Pinoy brand of basketball in trying to lead his Malaysian team to a respectable finish in the FIBA Asia Champion’s Cup slated April 28 to May 5 at the Philsports Arena. Ariel Vanguardia, a long-time assistant coach in the Philippine Basketball Association and a former mentor of the Jose Rizal University in the NCAA and the Toyota Otis in the PBL, will call the shots for one of the foreign teams competing here — the Westport Kuala Lumpur Dragons. “Our coach is also the national team coach of Malaysia (Goh Cheng Huat). And since he will be concentrating on the Southeast Asian Games, nagpalit muna kami," said Vanguardia, who attended the draw ceremony of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup last week. The Dragons will be in Group A along with Pilipinas-Smart Gilas. Vanguardia is actually looking forward to coaching against the Nationals and hopefully pull off an upset in this 10-team, two-group event. “Maganda ‘yun. It will be a privilege to coach against Pilipinas-Smart Gilas. It is one of my dreams na makalaro sila," said Vanguardia. “Hindi kami scouted. On the other hand, I can scout Smart Gilas," he added. During the draw ceremony where he sat beside Toroman, he told organizers that he wants Pilipinas-Smart Gilas to be in Group A along with the Dragons, Jordan, and representatives from Central Asia and Japan. “Katabi ko nga siya, sabi ko sa kabilang group nalang siya. Pero kidding aside, Group A is not as tough as Group B, so maganda rin ‘yung draw namin. We’ll see," said Vanguardia, who is eyeing at least a quarterfinals seat in the tournament. "That’s our modest goal. We’ll play hard and hopefully, we can qualify for the quarterfinals," he added. Asean Basketball League Most Valuable Player Nikiea Miller is expected to suit up for the Dragons, but Filipino players Patrick Cabahug and Rudy Lingganay, who were part of the ABL champion squad of the Dragons, will not be allowed to suit up. “Right now, he (Miller) is in Saudi Arabia and I don’t know if their league will end soon. If we can’t have him, we’ll get two new imports." Should Miller not be available, Vanguardia will seek the help of former Talk ‘N Text coach Bill Bayno to get an import. Bayno now works for the Portland Trailblazers as a member of their coaching staff. “He has been helping us as our consultant, although I believe he is busy with the NBA Playoffs," said Vanguardia. - KY, RCJ, Reuben Terrado, GMA News