The man behind #StopPlayingZone makes his position quite clear.
Former UAAP champion coach and current Magnolia Hotshots assistant Juno Sauler is pushing for Philippine basketball to prohibit youth basketball from playing zone defense. According to the former DLSU Green Archers tactician, veering away from this traditional defensive strategy will make a huge difference in the development of the country’s young hoopers. His slogan #StopPlayingZone has a solid foundation.
Sauler reached out to One Sports and sent his position paper, which explained in detail why the “no zone rule” should be a part of the Philippine basketball program. If you’re a little iffy about it, here are some of the key points in Sauler’s study that might get you on board with his vision.
Aiming to be among the world’s best
He made mention of other basketball-loving countries that are inside the top 10 of the FIBA Boys world rankings, specifically number 2 Spain, number 5 Lithuania, and number 6 Serbia. The Philippines, currently ranked 26th, shrinks all three European nations in terms of population size, which means the Philippines, in theory, has a larger pool of players to source its basketball talent.
This is enough reason, according to Sauler, to aim for a higher world ranking. But a change has to be made.
Learning from the world’s best
In the Philippines, teams still primarily play zone defense, whether in street ball or in more organized basketball tournaments. The higher-ranked basketball nations, meanwhile, have already removed the old defensive scheme from their youth basketball playbook. Sauler cited these highly ranked countries as examples.
- Spain forbids zone defense for 13 under.
- Australia (number 4 in the world) forbids zone defense for 14 under.
- Lithuania discourages zone defense for 15 under.
- Serbia discourages zone for 15 under.
It makes sense that the 49-year-old coach wants to follow the same system, doesn’t it?
Disadvantages of letting kids play zone
According to coach Juno, relying on zone defense at an early age develops bad habits. It eats up time that should be spent on teaching fundamentals. And it compromises the mental and physical conditioning of the kids. It’s like a domino effect of sorts.
What needs to be done
Sauler proposes to ban the use of zone in all games played by 14-year-olds and below. Filipino coaches receiving the right information on man-to-man concepts and its benefits on the youth should spark this transition.
Ultimately, coach Juno wishes for #StopPlayingZone to be institutionalized in schools and basketball camps with the backing of private institutions and the government as well.
This advocacy may be asking a lot. But it might be necessary to redirect local basketball towards a path of meaningful progress.