BANGKOK (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier) - Douglas Marty is closing in on a full two years of coaching in Thailand and in this upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-qualifier, he’s finally getting the nod as the National Team Head Coach. 

During the South-East Asian (SEA) Games and SEABA Championship in 2017, Marty played more of an assistant role in Thailand’s back-to-back 3^rd place finishes but will be taking over the Head Coaching position here as Thailand is set to play on their home soil.

“Its a lot of fun,” Marty says of his new position so far. “It’s really a lot of fun because these guys have good attitude, good spirit, and its fun to step out here and work with them. They give me energy and motivation.

 
In his last FIBA Asia appearance Patiphan Klahan led the team with 11 PPG & 5 RPG

“A lot of things we’re doing are similar to before, in terms of philosophy and system. There were some changes but I like it because I like the teaching part of it,” the ever cheerful Coach adds about how he’s had to adjust. “As head coach, you’re really in charge of all the teaching and connecting the dots and doing all that stuff and I really enjoy that. I have good support from the assistants and the staff and everything, so the program has momentum from before which is good. I enjoy the challenge.”

 The challenge this time for Marty — and the Thailand National Team — should be to finish in top spot of the six-team tournament.

 “We want to win it,” Marty states. “We’ll play to win it. I don’t know if we can but I think we have a chance depending on how things come together. Our guys are competitors and we’ve seen these teams before so I think we have a chance. So that’s our goal, to win it.”

 Thailand will be fielding a highly-talented squad for Marty to lead. From their two young twin towers Teerawat Chantachon and Chanathip Jakrawan, to Thai-American star Tyler Lamb, Marty will have what should be among the best teams in the playing field.

Click HERE to see Thailand roster

 “I think the talent we have are athletic and fast,” Marty says. “We have some size as well so we’ll try to use that in every aspect of the game, both offensively and defensively. We won’t be passive in anyway. We want to try to bring that quickness and athleticism to bear on the court.”

 “That kind of thing takes time to build on the court but I think we have the players to do that.”

With a contending roster and home-court advantage, it would seem to be easy for Thailand to fall prey to complacency. This is a relatively young squad that doesn’t have the experience that previous teams have and they will be going into the tournament without any tune-up games together.

 But Marty isn’t worried.

 “Playing for the national team, the tournaments are limited,” he says with a fiery passion in his eyes. “The last major tournament was the SEA Games last August, so it’s really special when you have a tournament like this.” 

“If you can’t get excited and get past complacency, then maybe you should just stick to club basketball or maybe retire. Because when you put on the Thailand jersey and you’re playing a tournament, it has to be one-hundred percent energy.”

“It’s our job as coaches to select the guys that are motivated and we have to motive them, too. If we see complacency, something is really wrong and I don’t think we’ll see that.

FIBA