Part II – The Need to Globalize Philippine Basketball: THE MODEL

In this 2nd part, I wish to highlight the growing nature of basketball as a “global sport”, influenced by the popularity of the NBA as well as its “open door policy” on allowing foreign-born players to compete in the league. These two factors must be recognized and embraced as an accepted fact — that the world and game of basketball is, indeed, already GLOBAL.

 

 

Article of Excuses

 

I recently read an article by a noted sportswriter who wrote about the lambasting we got from a tournament, the FIBA-Asia Club Championships, in which the All-Pro Philippine Team participated. We all know that Filipinos are known sour-grapes when it comes to losing in basketball. In that article, we got the usual litany of excuses as to why we got beaten badly. In fact, most of them were valid: unfamiliarity with international rules, lack of cohesiveness, and fatigue.

News Flash: RP wins over Iran, 89-79

Just got a text a few minutes ago. Team Pilipinas just finished off Iran, 89-79.

It is a good victory for our national cagers considering they just came from another heartbreaking loss to Jordan, 70-74, yesterday. As you would have read by now, Kerby Raymundo had a chance to tie the ballgame with two free throws (RP down then by 2, 68-70, with 1:03 to go in the game). However… you guessed it. Two free throws muffed.

It might interest all of you to know that both Jordan and Iran are bracketed with the Philippines and China in the “Group of Death” for the FIBA-Asia Qualifiers, which will take place at the end of this month (July 2007). The top two teams of each group advance to the quarters and so on. Assuming that we’ll be waylaid by China (hope not, though), we will need to beat both Jordan and Iran to obviously assure ourselves entry to the next round. Or if we’ll only manage a 1-2 record, we’ll have to rely both on hardwork (win by as many points as we can and lose by as few as possible — quotient system) and help from Lady Luck (that Iran, Jordan, and the Philippines cancel out each other’s win) to move into the next round via photo finish.

I am quite satisfied with the way Team Pilipinas has played in this 29th edition of the Jones Cup. If we had played it more intelligently and carefully, we would’ve been sporting a 6-0 win-loss record by now. Our three losses: to Lebanon, 62-65 (via a last second 3-point shot that went off the glass); to Japan, 82-84 (via a dying-seconds-turnover by Dondon Hontiveros, en route to a breakaway layup for the marginal basket); and to Jordan, as mentioned above.

Chot and his wards came to the Jones Cup to study and practice. I believe they are doing their job well.

Keep it up, Boys!

Part I – The Need to Globalize Philippine Basketball: BACKGROUNDER

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) model is now outmoded. They’re still living in the past, trying to cling to the spirit of its heydays in the 70’s and the 80’s. Sad to say, the spunk and glamor are gone. Well, at least for me, an avid basketball fan, who had religiously followed the league, game after game, until the early 90’s. Same can probably be said about our existing insular brand of “basketball infrastructure”, from the various collegiate leagues to the various commercial leagues, professional and amateur.

One can say that this insular point of view has kept us from improving to an acceptable level of regional or, even, global standards. In this 3-part series about Philippine Basketball, I aim to put forward ideas that the leaders of the sport can consider, toy around with, and hopefully, implement successfully — all with the end-view of putting the Philippines back to a podium place finish in regional and international tournaments.

For me, there were three (3) major developments that changed the world and the game of basketball, as it is now. First, FIBA’s decision to allow professional players to compete in FIBA-sanctioned international competitions. Second, the burgeoning popularity and worldwide reach of the NBA. And finally, the influx of foreign players into the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The PBA responded right away by fielding in an All-Pro team in 1990 for the Beijing Asiad and had sent select teams made up of pros since then. The best finish we ever achieved since we started sending our PBA players to international tournaments was a runner-up placing behind China in that 1990 version of the Asian Games. We then finished 3rd in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, 4th in the Bangkok Asiad in 1998, and 4th again in the 2002 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar (we would’ve placed 2nd behind China once again if not for that last second 3 point shot by Lee Sang Min of South Korea — and the 2 missed free throws by Olsen Racela — in the semis of that tournament).