The harsh reality of height

As Gilas Pilipinas carries on its journey to the Fiba World Cup, it will continue to deal with the reality of the height advantage of many, if not most, of its opponents.

There’s no question about the team’s determination, fighting heart and preparation.

Almost every Filipino coach that has handled a Philippine team that played on an international stage outside of the Southeast Asian Games has said that his team will make up for the lack of ceiling with tons of fighting spirit. Many have added that they will use speed—but that’s until the grim truth that you can’t use hustle and athleticism if you don’t have a ball to work with.

But this is just the country’s first return to the worlds after its default participation as host in 1978. The good news is that without that much ceiling against France recently, Gilas performed creditably, losing only in the homestretch, 68-75.  The Filipinos used outside sniping, hitting 12 of 29 treys to give the French a good scare. France ranks among the top 10 teams in the world.

That’s great when the snipers manage to hit the target. But once there are off days and stingier defenses, there will be missed shots and usually the bigger and heftier squads will control the boards. We saw that when the Philippines lost in the Fiba Asia gold medal game against Iran.

An interesting trend is that most Filipino children today are generally taller than previous generations. Don’t ask me for an explanation. Just take a look at most families on a weekend in the mall.  The kids are definitely taller and dwarf their parents and grandparents.

This augurs well for basketball and volleyball. In time, we should have taller homegrown players in the PBA and the national team. Reinventing the tall ones to play the wings, like 6-foot-10 Japeth Aguilar, is also a step in the right direction because the game today has tall and lanky players shooting treys and slashing for slams off cuts.

The influx of overseas-born players with Filipino roots has also added height to the wing and even guard positions.  The naturalization of “bigs” Marcus Douthit and Andray Blatche has also helped.

Many are still not comfortable with this development but this is the way it’s done by other teams in the world. The Philippines will not be able to compete on equal footing against height and heft if these moves were not made.

Our young Gilas players who participated in the Fiba Under-17 world championship found that out also.

The basketball world has become more global with borders diminishing as players of different birthplaces and backgrounds come to our shores. The important thing to note is that the naturalized and Filipino-foreigners opted to play for the Philippines.

In time, and if we build on Gilas’ gains, we would be able to handle this height and heft handicap and showcase once more the talents of the Filipino basketball player on the world stage.