Hoop analyst in a taxi

OUR SEASONED analysts and scribes have broken down the chances of the Gilas Pilipinas basketball team in the forthcoming Fiba Asia Championship this August.

There is a common chorus that it will not be easy for the national squad to make it to the top three and earn a ticket to the world basketball championship given the strength of the opposition.

This analysis is not lost on our ordinary folk, the people who don’t make basketball their livelihood but follow and understand the sport. They are the taxi and jeepney drivers, street food hawkers, waiters or sales ladies in our malls. They grew up with basketball, knowing the stars and personalities of the game as well as the situation Philippine basketball is in compared to its Asian neighbors.

I’ve been riding a fair amount of taxis of late, given my recent automotive problems.  Many who ply the city streets know who I am, having followed the PBA and other basketball leagues for years.

After some initial hesitation usually marked by peeking at their rearview mirror to make sure that I’m the same person they’ve seen in basketball games, taxi drivers then start a hoops conversation.

Take Roger (not his real name) for instance.  He says he wasn’t sure it was me until I told him where to go.

“Noong nagsalita kayo sir, nakilala ko kayo (When you spoke sir, I knew it was you),” Roger says sheepishly. If cab drivers ignore me after the initial directions, that’s fine. But if they want to talk hoops, then why not?

“Sir, ano chances natin sa Fiba (Sir, what are our chances in the Fiba)?” Roger asks as he zips through a relatively open highway. I answer it will be tough but playing on home grounds will help.

“Ang lakas pa rin ng China, South Korea at Japan, sir (China, South Korea and Japan are still strong, sir),” Roger opines. “Tapos may mga Middle East na bayan pa. (Then you have the Middle Eastern countries, too).”

“Tingin ko sir, kulang tayo sa sentro at malalaki (We lack centers sir, and other bigs),” Roger goes on as he waits out a red light. “Pero sa guwardya ’di tayo nagkukulang. (We are not lacking in guards).”

He then goes on a rundown of the great guards of the past and present, starting with Robert Jaworski, Johnny Abarrientos and then on to Jimmy Alapag and LA Tenorio.  The Philippines has never been wanting in guards. Guard play is perfect for our size but there have also been a ton of sweet shooting forwards through the years.

It was a short trip but obviously Roger wanted to talk more hoops. “Sana makalusot tayo,” Roger adds as I pay him and get out. I bid him safe journey and find out that he’s that kind of cabbie that stretches nights into mornings and vice versa.

Roger’s sentiments and hopes are not solely his own. Our countrymen understand their basketball and know that it will take breaks and a lot of hometown support to make it to the Fiba top three.

There is no false hope about winning the championship because of their understanding of how strong the opposition is.

However, if Andy Murray in tennis can end 77 years of waiting for a Briton to return to the Wimbledon throne, who knows maybe Gilas Pilipinas can stir enough frenzy and passion to make us hope for the future.

Roger in his taxi and countless others are praying for exactly that kind of hoopla this August.