INQUIRER Sports

SCORE A COUPLE OF RECENT WINS FOR Philippine basketball in the international scene.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has perhaps cleared the last remaining roadblock for its full management of the sport in the country.

The Fiba (International Basketball Federation) appreciated the efforts of the SBP and took the wind out of the last-ditch effort of the old Basketball Association of the Philippines to resurface.

It was a good move by the SBP to meet with Fiba officials in Geneva. As we continue to rebuild our international reputation in the sport, relating with the powers that govern the international game is part of the job.

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The other victory is Powerade-Team Pilipinas? participation in the 31st William Jones Cup in Taipei.

Sure, it?s still hard to swallow sports headlines that banner the team?s setbacks.

Many of us grew up reading reports about the RP team?s triumphs over our Asian foes. But times have changed with our opponents growing taller and heftier and spending so much more to get their teams seasoned for international play.

What?s more, the playing field has changed dramatically.

In the ?70s, we only had to deal with the teams from the Middle East during the Asian Games. Nowadays, countries like Iran, Lebanon and Jordan play regularly in Asian tournaments.

They are part of the equation we have to deal with aside from South Korea, China and Japan.

The Middle Eastern teams play with a different passion and a physicality that is often hard to deal with. Many of their players don?t have the flair of our players, but you really don?t need pizzazz to haul down rebounds and to play defense.

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Coach Yeng Guiao is scanning the opposition while getting his team accustomed to a higher level of Asian play.

The Filipinos? recent win in the Seaba (Southeast Asian Basketball Association) tournament in Jakarta was fine but the quality of opposition is tougher in the Jones Cup and in the upcoming Fiba Asia championship in Tianjin, China.

Guiao is also allowing teamwork to come naturally in the games by getting the players used to playing with each other. Even if the players know each other?s moves because of PBA play, it?s different when you have to run on the break or pass the ball to someone you normally play against.

The other thing that Guiao wants is for his cagers to get used to playing with the RP colors on their chest. You can only instill a sense of playing for the country if you actually do it on the court in an international tournament.

So let?s allow this rebuilding to continue. Gone are the days when we dominated the Asian region with the inborn talent and flair of the Filipino basketball player.

With the nod of Fiba and getting back into the trenches in international play, the long journey back to basketball glory is really just beginning.