Former UP Fighting Maroons coach Bo Perasol gives his perspective on developing the basketball stars of tomorrow.
Amid the NBTC National Finals’ Fantastic 8, UP Office for Athletics and Sports Development (OASD) director Bo Perasol was the latest in a list of coaches or scouts to watch the games between the Philippines’ top high school talents.
Prior to assuming his current post, Perasol had a fair share of coaching basketball teams at different levels. In recent times, he was the coach who spearheaded the UP Fighting Maroons’ resurgence in the UAAP basketball wars.
To older fans, Perasol may be known for coaching Air21 Express, or the Coca-Cola Tigers in the PBA. Perasol also coached the UPIS Junior Fighting Maroons from 1994 to 1997.
With a decades’ worth of experience in Philippine basketball, what would Bo Perasol prioritize in developing the Philippines’ future basketball stars?
“It’s always fundamentals. The coaches have to be able to teach it the right way from a young age,” he told The GAME in an interview Thursday.
“I mean we need to realize that playing basketball is not just about who gets the shot. It’s about making sure you are equipped in terms of passing, handling the ball, in terms of making decisions.”
Doing so, Perasol said, gives younger players “a chance”. If anything, this allows players to thrive long term, he said.
“It’s good if you focus on what you need to do offensively or defensively, but you need to equip players on giving them a chance on how to play on a higher level. Shooting, ball handling and all of that,” he explained.
Fortunately though, Perasol has noticed an increase in coaches prioritizing fundamentals. “It’s not just about playing 5 on 5 right away. I think the coaches now, they’re really good at that, but we need to see more of that.”
‘Improvement from 10 to 15 years ago’
In terms of talent, Bo Perasol observed that current high schoolers are moving better “team-wise” and “as a unit”. Individually, he believes this batch is an improvement from players 10 to 15 years ago, despite being a step below more recent classes.
“This is really an improvement in the way we’re playing the game, the way they’re moving, how strong they are. So let’s just say, an improved version of the past players…Yeah about 10 years ago. Even the smaller guys now can run faster, they defend well. They know that the pace is a little bit faster also,” he said.
Increased athleticism was another “obvious” observation for the coach. Younger talents, he noticed, are “quicker”, and would “run faster”.
For Bo Perasol, this can be due to the rise of social media, and online availability of exercises and skills training.
“I mean get a video, reel, just copy it. That’s why I think that’s also one of the reasons why they’re also able to, skill-wise, able to improve. I think the availability of those things…the NBA, everything. It just gives them the opportunity to improve individually,” he said.
Banner Image from UAAP Media Bureau
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