As a huge fan of Philippine national basketball team, no other happiness will surpass the jubilation I would feel the time when they will step into the Olympic stage again.
I stress, when. Again.
Because it won't be the first time our modern-day heroes have reached the summit of any sporting tournament. The last time it happened was way back in 1972 where they finished 13th place. All in all, the national team has already made a total of 8 Olympic appearances.
But those times were so long ago and I wasn't even alive at that time to enjoy seeing our very own showcasing the brand of Philippine basketball against the best the world has to offer.
Fast forward to today, and it appears that my dreams of witnessing our national team march to Olympics will come to fruition.
Only that France and New Zealand have something to say about it, as they booted out Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, crashing us Filipino fans back to earth just when we thought we have rockets strapped on our backs to ascend to the heavens.
The loss also hit the reset button for the Philippine basketball program as they are now trying to figure out what needs to be done and what not.
I rescind to castigate our own heroes, because if you take a look at it, our national team has been at its best in recent memory. If you can recall, our boys bagged silver medal finishes over the past two FIBA Asia Championships against Asian powerhouses. The progress is clearly there, no matter how little they are.
But I am no saint and I will be frank to admit that something inside of me wants to point fingers on what could have caused our temporary setback. It is easy to do, considering the position that we are in -- that there is absolutely no pressure on us on winning those games so it is easy to be a keyboard warrior and tell these players and coaches what should have been done.
So without further ado, I am here with a wishlist for our dearest national team.
3. Sweep the Asia
Something inside me tells that those two consecutive runner-up places at FIBA Asia weren't good enough.
And it is. If we had won that game against China, not only that we are the best in Asia, we are already secured of an outright ticket to Rio. We don't have to participate in this whole tourney, giving our players more time to rest and practice.
But that is beside the point. The ideology is, be a big fish on our own pond first before swimming along with the sharks in the ocean.
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| Our national team can is more than capable of being the Asia's best. |
To put it simply, be the best on our own turf, and conquering the world would be that much feasible.
It is not a far-fetched fantasy. If anything, I believe a gold medal finish in Asia is very doable if you factor in the level of talent and the evolution of our basketball program.
Looking at our Asian rivals such as Iran and South Korea, while still are pains in the butt, they are getting thrashed by Western powerhouses every single time they square up. Compared to them, we gave Croatia, Argentina, and more recently, France a competitive slugfest. That speaks the truth that we can be the best in Asia. It is only a matter of being specific to our goals.
So for the time being, I want our national team to solely focus on being the Asia's top predator, and let the other nations know that we are coming.
2. Play like the Dubs
Asking our Gilas boys to shoot like Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson would be asking too much, wouldn't it?
But let's face the reality: The only way for the national team to win on world level is to shoot with laser beam accuracy.
As Filipinos our genes are not blessed with innate athleticism and talent compared to the Western races, so playing hard in the paint would be the doom of the national team. Even in that gold medal game against China, our Gilas boys are severely outsized that made their lives inside the shaded area difficult.
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| The three-point shot is our best chance at competing in the world stage. |
To offset this problem, the players need to fine-tune their long-range weapons. How would they do it? That, I am not sure.
Perhaps it could start by refining the basketball philosophies. Much like the Golden State Warriors, make the three-point shooting the focal point of offense. Then the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) could invest on hiring some world class shooting coaches to guide the players on how to throw that rock like Curry.
This is not to say that we shouldn't rely on the bigs anymore but rather we should accept the truth that our biggest weapon is the three-point shot. We have the personnel to do it. It is only a matter of how much our national team is committed to it.
1. "Bayan Bago ang Sarili!"
To borrow a quote from the historical epic Heneral Luna, "Negosyo o Kalayaan? Bayan o Sarili? Mamili ka!"
To translate for the sake of our foreign readers, these set of words pertain to the idea of nationalism, where a citizen should choose between country and self-preservation.
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| If only these PBA team owners can set aside self-interests. |
That also goes to our basketball. At the moment, we are being captives to mediocrity that stems from sheer politics in the sport we love so much.
Just imagine if only the MVP Group of Companies and the San Miguel Corporation -- two of the most powerful conglomerates in the PBA -- set aside profits to patriotism, then I'd bet this national team would have accomplished so much more. And this shoutout goes to other PBA ballclubs and to the PBA as a whole.
And considering that we all have a common goal, would it be that hard to do?
Let it be known to you that I am a no basketball expert or analyst of some sort, but I have watched basketball and read the papers enough to come up with these statements. Until then, I hope my wishes will be granted.
See you in the Olympics, Gilas Pilipinas.
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