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)

26th FIBA Asia Championship: GIlas playing sans Lassiter, Lutz

NEWS: Gilas plays without Lutz, Lassiter

The Pilipinas Smart-Gilas played its first 3 games in the 26th FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China without wingmen Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter. The result? A 2-1 record. The Gilas beat UAE and Bahrain but fell to the taller Chinese basketball team.

It is quite sad that eligibility issues were only addressed on the eve of the competitions. The Philippines along with middle-eastern power Qatar were most affected. Qatar had 5 players ruled ineligible. Some quarters think that these developments were politically motivated. The one handling the issue is from Lebanon, one of the teams that expect to figure well in this year's tourney.

Some people say that Lebanon is scared to face the Philippines and Qatar. Maybe. It is not nice to see that games are decided in the boardroom rather than in the basketball court. The Philippines is probably a top 6 team with the 2 "barred" players. Without them, the semifinal hopes can be dim.

I know that the SBP leadership will exhaust all means to make them eligible in the next rounds of the championships. Hopefully, they will succeed. If not, then it will have a bigger impact on the recruitment process for the future national teams. A lot of our prized recruits are half-Filipinos. If the issues are not clarified, then the Gilas program will be left in shambles.

Let see what happens in the next few days...

Gilas bow to Iran in Jones Cup semis

The Smart-Gils lost its semifinals match-up in the 33rd William Jones Cup against Middle Eastern power Iran, 59-78.  The Iranians totally dominated the inside and nobody in the Philippine line-up can contain NBA Veteran Hamad Haddadi who almost outscored the whole Philippine team at one point. He finished with 36 points.

Well, a different kind of Iranian team faced the Smart-Gilas this time. The Gilas were playing minus JV Casio who has been their main sniper in the tournament. His absence was visible and the replacements were ineffective. Douhit and the other big guys were having a hard time guarding Hadadi.

So, what does this mean? Not much, I guess. The real battle will be next month but the signs are not good. The lack of height and heft will really show in the big games. The Gilas will be eaten alive inside. Douhit is passable but after him? How can we improve in a month? Will Kelly Williams help? A little perhaps.

It is also annoying to see that players like Slaughter are getting ticky-tacky calls that will not be called in events like Fiba Asia. We have to toughen up our biggies as early as college. If the Philippines want to succeed, they have to discourage centers or power forwards who look like who is on a diet. Lanky dudes are good for modeling but for tough games, they should put a minimum playing weight for our guys. Hire people like Alex Ariza to teach speed with the added weight. I am sure we can create better big men in the future.

As for the 2012 Olympic Dreams, it is the time to show the world the power of prayers. ;)