Size does matter in basketball

I WOULDN’T lose too much sleep over Smart Gilas’ bronze medal finish in the recent Fiba Asia Cup.

There’s a rich variety of coffee shop and online talk both citing and criticizing the team’s performance against some of Asia’s best and upcoming teams but you just have to appreciate that we are again vying for the top three positions in such tournaments.

There was a time we couldn’t even reach the semifinal rounds because of early collisions with the powerhouse teams, size problems and unlucky game breaks. But now we’re back slugging and staying in the thick of competition until the very last day.

We will just have to really think of other ways to beat Iran, our new tormentor.  The Iranians have size, speed and shooting skills that give us huge problems.  Many Middle East teams no longer have tall, plodding players with no athletic ability to match the stronger basketball countries.

With these developments, there are two mindsets we have to get rid of as supporters of our basketball team.  The Philippines no longer holds the majority stock of speed and athleticism in Asia.

In the 1950s to the 1970s, we had the faster players who could outhustle everyone in Asia who was just beginning to learn how to play basketball.

Times have changed and because our Asian neighbors got tired of being beaten by the Philippines, they started getting better training and conditioning for the sport.

So coaches who are assigned to handle Philippine teams of all ages and abilities for international competitions will just have to stop emphasizing speed as a weapon against Asia’s best.

The rest of the field has gotten bigger and speed doesn’t really matter when you have behemoths controlling the rebounds.  And when you have big guys who can run as well, then your own supply of speed is clearly negated.

The second view we should adjust is that small, speedy players are all right but they have to be complemented with stronger and bigger guards.

The addition of Paul Lee to the lineup signals that adjustment for a wily big guard who can cut up defenses and is not easily banged on the way to the basket.

Lee is a muscular six-foot guard who is not afraid to take the crucial shots. From his days at University of the East to the old Philippine Basketball League, this Rain or Shine stalwart has always had the skills and the guts to compete. He is exactly what we need for international competitions.

The World Championship is next for Gilas but realistically the prestigious games are more of a tuneup for the Asian Games.

Nobody is talking about it but size will be a problem in the tournament in Spain.  The team will use these matches as their preparation for the more winnable Asiad gold medal.