Stirring the national passion

The slew of articles and columns about the formation of Gilas Pilipinas for the Fiba World Championships reminds many of us in middle age about how much brouhaha and hoopla surrounded the selection of the national basketball team in the past.

In the 1960s and ’70s, my basketball buddies and I in Sta. Cruz, Manila, would wait excitedly for who would finally make the ABC (the forerunner of the Fiba Asia tournament), the Asian Games and even the Olympics. We would scan the front page and then the sports section to check out the individual photos of the chosen few. We would argue and disagree with the choices at times, but that was the essence of being fans: Having an opinion.

On a national scale, there were also many controversies and disagreements about the choices each time. The one I recall was for the 1974 Tehran Asian Games where one top sports official disagreed with the selection of Philip Cezar. The lanky defensive specialist played his heart out in the games and proved to be one of the stalwarts of that team.

Nothing grabs our imagination or triggers our sensitivities quite like the selection of the players who will wear the country’s colors in international competitions. The interest has been rekindled by the sterling performance of Gilas Pilipinas in the last Fiba Asia.

I will offer alternative views, which take into consideration Marcio Lassiter and Greg Slaughter’s recent decline of the offer to join the pool, the need for a competitive team in the World Championship and the urgency of an all-out fighting crew for the now-winnable Asian Games gold medal.

First, coach Chot Reyes is doing the right thing by inviting players to join. The national team is a commitment. If a player feels he cannot live up to that for various reasons, then it is time to move on and find others for the pool who will play for the country if chosen. In the last Fiba Asia, Reyes and his staff asked the team to sign a commitment letter that asked the players to pledge their support for the cause.

Second, we should put into gear our basketball heads and discern the upcoming campaigns with the objective of coming up with the best teams for the Worlds and the Asiad.

There is a tinge of Filipino utang na loob (debt of gratitude) that says that the 12 who won the Fiba Asia silver should all be allowed to go to Spain. This is what happened to the 1973 team that won the ABC and then went on to Puerto Rico for the Worlds.

Given utang na loob, the coaching staff should still be given that option to choose the best team for the World Championship. We will have to deal with height and heft in Spain.  If we want to make the Final 16 with at least two wins, we will have to consider what’s best for that kind of tournament.

Thereafter, the fiercest and perhaps, best-suited team that can play Reyes’ dribble-drive system should be selected for the Asian Games.  This is the best time to aspire for the gold because we are catching China at its worst form and South Korea can be beaten as shown in the last Fiba Asia.  The Philippines is back as a threat to the Asian crown and the other countries know it.

Forming the national basketball team has never been easy. It is the team that represents our passion for the game, our dreams of doing well in a game more suited for giants and titans. For now, feel free to express your opinion but let the team buckle down to work once it has been formed.