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It may be the trend now, but is position-less basketball that easy to play?

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Migs Bustos, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/06/08/yeng-guiao.jpg"/><figcaption>Yeng Guiao is one coach who gives importance to player strengths, as much as their positions, when he picks the five playing together on the court. Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports/file</figcaption></figure></div>In an evolving basketball world, “position-less” is a word every player or coach has been talking about.It can be seen in the NBA, most often with the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets who run their offenses with no true centers. The influence of the NBA on global basketball is highly evident as coaches and teams try to emulate this new norm.But is it necessarily for everyone?UAAP and PBA vets agree that it should be identified with the right fit.In an interview on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=198467861333317">Aclan Sports Skills Factory</a> Facebook page, Green Archer legend Renren Ritualo says: “Nowadays, its position-less, everyone can guard, everyone can shoot and dribble, kaya minsan di mo alam kung ano mangyayari sa loob. Sobrang galing ng players now and athletic. Dadating pa rin du’n ’yung definition of roles. Kaya mong gawin lahat, OK ’yun, pero kailangan pa rin ng system and it boils down to coaching.”Rich Alvarez, head coach of the General Santos Warriors in the MPBL, admits that he tried exploiting his players’ versatilities and played a position-less type of system, but eventually adjusted back to the basics.“Position-less basketball, it is great, it sounds great. Running it, it’s difficult. Our team in Gensan, we had no true center, we did a lot of fastbreaks and running. We were winning games at first, but as we played bigger teams, tougher teams, we’d lose badly so we had to find that middle ground. We started to adjust and changing up things,” he says.Alvarez played for the Blue Eagles from 1999-2003. Known for his agile and all-around play, he had to do a lot of adjusting and sticking to a definite role. But it changed during his later years in college.“First three years of my college life, I wasn&#x27;t allowed to shoot a jump shot. Then when coach Joel (Banal) came in, ’Oh, am I allowed to do this?’ I was shooting threes in my last years,” says AlvarezWesley Gonzales, who previously played power forward in high school for the Blue Eaglets, had to make a transition when he entered college. Because he was tall and long, his coaches saw him fit as a small forward. Note that the Blue Eagles had Alvarez, Enrico Villanueva and Paolo Bugia, who were known to be dominant big men.Gonzales agrees with both Ritualo and Alvarez.“In our time, big man pa rin nagdo-dominate ng game. Position-less basketball needs the right materials also. Before, if you were a power forward, you can’t shoot from the outside. If you know you can shoot, but you cant,” he recalls.Gonzales also praises coaches such as former Gilas Pilipinas head coach Yeng Guiao for focusing on players’ strengths.“With current coaches now, ’yung sistema ni coach Yeng parang ganu’n. As long as he sees you practicing it, at ginagawa mo sa practices and you can do it, he’ll let you do it,” he says.“During my time with Ateneo, maraming magaling. For me I just wanted to be in the team. I wanted to do something that nobody’s willing to do. When people ask me how did you become a defensive player, ang sa akin lang is no one wanted to (laughs). I’ll take that, so I get to play. My adjustment from power forward to small forward took time. I can’t dribble that much nor can shoot from the outside, so I worked on that. So whatever the team needs, I’ll do it. Kung sino man ’yung ayaw gawin ’to, ako gagawa kasi kailangan.”All three agree that in order for a position-less system to work, players must have high basketball IQ.“Kailangan din ng players should have high understanding for the game. Reading defenses and reading also their teammates,” says Ritualo“Everyone is skilled so it will take a lot of sacrifice for this system to work. Acceptance of roles, strengths, weaknesses and sacrifice between players is also key. Trust and respect will play a major role in this system. And ’pag naintindihan mo na ’yun at na-accept, I think that’s the time it will work.”<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

In an evolving basketball world, “position-less” is a word every player or coach has been talking about.

In an evolving basketball world, “position-less” is a word every player or coach has been talking about.

It may be the trend now, but is position-less basketball that easy to play?

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It may be the trend now, but is position-less basketball that easy to play?

Migs Bustos,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 11, 2020 07:54 PM PHT

Read More:

NBA

PBA

MPBL

position-less basketball

Renren Ritualo

Rich Alvarez

Wesley Gonzales

Yeng Guiao

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