FIBA Asia Championships: the good things about 4th place

News: Korea beats the Philippines

The 2012 Olympic dream for the Smart-Gilas is over and the 4th place finish is actually one of our best finishes in recent years. Here is some good things that I think of after the loss.

1. Manny V. Pangilinan or MVP will be able to save up some money for other sports and charity. If the Gilas won then he would have to bankroll the Gilas' campaign in a tougher Olympic qualifier. He can use the money to pay for the boxers and the taekwondo jins who could have better shot of an olympic medal than the basketball team. He can even use the money to buy an NBA team. ;)

2. We lost to a familiar foe. Korea and the Philippines are evenly matched but it seems that we are cursed against those Koreans. We seem to lose in the final minutes of the game. At least, there was nothing new about the game. I was at the edge of my seat watching the 3rd place battle on TV with Olsen "Crying" Racela being the color commentator. Of all the people that they chose, why him? I'm sure Olsen was crushed watching a heartbreaker do over.

3. It is gonna be an exciting PBA season. The Gilas draftees will surely crowd the PBA rookie of the Year race (if they are considered rookies).

4. Respect. Somehow we got the respect of our Asian neighbors now. They cannot take us lightly once we learn how to win in crunchtime then they better be ready to bow to the future brown kings of Asian basketball soon.

5. National team formula. Our system is working and coach Toroman has elevated our standards. I hope that the Iranians will not try to snatch him back. We probably have the best center in Asia performance-wise. We just need to surround him with a mix of pros and trainee amateurs. Slaughter, Ravena, and Parks should be integrated to Gilas as early as next year. We need to have a new Alapag (a fast PG who is a dead-eye in the 3 point region). If only Alapag was 3 inches taller..hehehe.

It is sad but basketball is still the No.1 team sport in the country. No offense to football but we are No.4 in Asia in this sport. We just can't give up this slot for a sport where we are just No.4 in Southeast-Asia.  The future of Philippine basketball might not be as rosy but the Gilas program should be continued and we should stop the habit of rebuilding often. We have to add on to the Gilas and hopefully the PBA and MVP's rival San Miguel will help.

Jordan ends Gilas' dream run

News: Jordan beats Gilas in the FIBA Asia Semis

The winning streak of the Pilipinas Smart-Gilas 5 in the FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China ends at 5. The Philippines missed a chance to be in the finals after it crashed against a very experienced Jordanian team. A lot of people had high hopes for a breakthrough for the Pinoy ballers as Jordan eliminated the seemingly unbeatable Iran. Jordan fell to the Gilas in their first meeting in the 2nd round. It was not meant to be.

The Olympic dream might never be over though as they can still qualify for the final Olympic qualifiers if they win the bronze medal in Wuhan. There is still hope but historically, the Gilas do not fare well in 3rd place matches. They also seem to lose to a team that they beat in previous rounds (another example was in the Jones Cup against Iran). I hope that they can get out of the emotional rut and win the battle for 3rd place. The Gilas has shown that they can compete with the best of Asia.

If they lose tomorrow, will there still be a Gilas program? With the core going pro, what happens to the team? Our past performances in Asian level competition has been badly affected by the constant rebuilding of teams. Instead of continuously improving, we prefer to start from scratch often. Once the PBA starts, a lot of basketball leaders forget about the national team. They always say that there are new players waiting on the wings but these players need to develop chemistry and learn the system. The system of coach Toroman somehow works and we got a gem with Marcus Douthit. It is just sad that Lassiter and company will be donning different colors as early as next week.

Is the Olympic dream really over? We will surely find out sooner than later. ;)

May the Gilas win 3rd place so that there will be a flicker of hope for the program to continue.

Related Links:
Gilas stuns Japan (sportsreaktor)
Rebuilding the Gilas (past article)