Thomas Anthony "Tab"BaldwinONZM (born 16 May 1958) is an American-New Zealandbasketball coach who currently serves as the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball programme and head coach for theAteneo Blue Eagles of theUniversity Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Baldwin also served as a consultant ofPhilippine Basketball Association club teamTNT Tropang Giga.
Baldwin was born inJacksonville, Florida and played for the Bishop Kenny High School under the coaching of his father, who played basketball for Notre Dame in the 1930s.[1] FromJacksonville Beach, he went to New Zealand in 1988 to coach theOtago Nuggets.[2][3]
He was promoted with them from the second division to theNBL and then joined theAuckland Stars in 1994.[4] In eight seasons with Auckland, he won five NBL titles (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000), and was named NBL Coach of the Year four times (1995, 97, 99 and 2014).[citation needed]
He remains the most victorious coach in the history of theNew Zealand NBL. Baldwin's involvement continued with the Stars as a co-owner for another eight years after he left as coach.[citation needed]
In 2001, he took the reins of the New Zealand national team. By winning the2001 FIBA Oceania championship, theTall Blacks — as New Zealand are known — qualified for the2002 FIBA World Championship, and even reached the semi-finals; this is the best performance by an Oceania team in the history of the World Championships. Baldwin was appointed an HonoraryOfficer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the2003 New Year Honours, for services to basketball.[5] For his achievements as coach of the New Zealand team, Baldwin was awarded the coach of the year at theHalberg awards — New Zealand's premier sports awards — for both 2001 and 2002.[6][7]
In 2023, Baldwin would be named into the New Zealand Basketball Hall of Fame.[8]
Baldwin has coachedBanvitspor inTurkey,PAOK Thessaloniki B.C. inGreece andU Mobitelco Cluj inRomania.[citation needed]
On 16 April 2010, he was appointed asLebanon national basketball team head coach.,[9] and on 15 August 2010 Lebanon won theFIBA Asia Stanković Cup 2010 with Baldwin as head coach.[10]
In June 2011, Baldwin was hired to coach theJordanian national basketball team.[citation needed]
On 2014, Baldwin was appointed asTalk 'N Text Tropang Texters assistant coach and consultant. He was let go by the team in 2020.[11][12][13]
On 23 December 2014, theSamahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas formally announced the appointment of Baldwin as head coach of the Philippine men's national team (popularly known asGilas Pilipinas), replacingChot Reyes.[14] Baldwin's two-year tenure as coach officially began on 1 January 2015.[15]
On 7 December 2015,Ateneo de Manila University formally announced the hiring of Baldwin as the head coach of itscollegiate men's varsity basketball team. He will be coaching the Blue Eagles in between the 2016 Olympics men's basketball qualifying tournament and the qualifying rounds for the2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, concentrating on the national team during the UAAP offseason.[16] A few days later, the Ateneo management reconsidered its decision to place Baldwin as the team's head coach following an objection by the Basketball Coaches of the Philippines, and instead was to be appointed as the collegiate team's consultant.[17] In 2016, Baldwin was officially named as the head coach and no longer just as a team consultant.[18]
On 18 October 2016, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios declared thatChot Reyes will return as head coach of Gilas while Baldwin will stay with the national team as the team's consultant, the same coaching setup the national team had during its historic 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and 2014 FIBA World Cup runs.[19]
On 3 December 2017, Baldwin led theAteneo Blue Eagles to their 9thUAAP basketball championship against theDe La Salle Green Archers.[20]
In 2019, he coached the Blue Eagles to a 14–0 sweep of the elimination round ofUAAP Season 82 basketball tournaments, with an average winning margin of 17.4 points per game.[21] On 20 November, Ateneo completed the season sweep and won their third consecutive title with Baldwin by defeating theUST Growling Tigers, 86–79.[22] In May of the same year, Baldwin was also appointed as programme director for the Philippine youth national team.[23] Under Baldwin, the Blue Eagles have won four championships in the UAAP.[24][25] In May 2023, he was recognised by the Collegiate Press Corps as the UAAP Men's Basketball Coach of the Year for the 2019–20 and 2022–23 seasons.[26]
In June 2021, Baldwin returned to take over as head coach of the Philippines,[27] leading the Philippines to three wins out of three games in the final window of the2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification, completing a sweep forGilas. However, weeks before the first window of the2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Baldwin stepped down from his post asGilas coach, choosing to focus on Ateneo's campaign for theUAAP Season 84. He was replaced byChot Reyes.[28]
Baldwin was previously married to Efthymia, originally from Greece. Efthymia is the owner-operator of a touring business,Definitely Greece, with tours of Greece and the Greek islands.[17] Baldwin is committed to reside in the Philippines at least until 2025.[29][30][31]
At the age of 65, Baldwin, a self-identified Catholic, fathered a child in Manila, which has led to controversy due to perceived conflicts with his faith and the values of his organization.
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otago Nuggets | 1990 | 22 | 4 | 18 | .181 | |
| Auckland Stars | 1994 | 24 | 15 | 9 | .625 | |
| Auckland Stars | 1995 | 30 | 27 | 3 | .9000 | Won1995 NBL-New Zealand Finals |
| Auckland Stars | 1996 | 28 | 23 | 5 | .821 | Won1996 NBL-New Zealand Finals |
| Auckland Stars | 1997 | 24 | 23 | 1 | .958 | Won1997 NBL-New Zealand Finals |
| Auckland Stars | 1998 | 22 | 16 | 6 | .727 | |
| Auckland Stars | 1999 | 18 | 14 | 4 | .777 | Won1999 NBL-New Zealand Finals |
| Auckland Stars | 2000 | 18 | 12 | 6 | .667 | Won2000 NBL-New Zealand Finals |
| Auckland Stars | 2001 | 17 | 9 | 8 | .529 | Lost2001 NBL-New Zealand Semifinals |
| P.A.O.K. BC | 2008 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .250 | Fired after 5 games |
| Fujian Sturgeons | 2013 | 32 | 11 | 21 | .343 | |
| Career | 240 | 155 | 85 | .645 | ||
| Season | Eliminations | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | Finish | PG | W | L | PCT | Results | |
| Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles (UAAP) | |||||||||
| 2016 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Runner-Up |
| 2017 | 13 | 1 | .929 | 1st | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | Champion |
| 2018 | 12 | 2 | .857 | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Champion |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Champion |
| 2021 | 13 | 1 | .929 | 1st | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Runner-Up |
| 2022 | 11 | 3 | .786 | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | Champion |
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Final Four |
| 2024 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8th | — | — | — | — | Eliminated |
| Totals | 84 | 28 | .750 | 24 | 15 | 9 | .625 | 4 championships | |
Philippines squad | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
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