ANYBODY who has sat on press row in international basketball tournaments since the 1990s has to admire the steady rise of Middle East nations in the sport. After all, for a long time the Philippines needed only to contend with the likes of China, South Korea, and Japan for basketball supremacy in Asia.
But at the turn of the millennium, Arab countries began what seemed like a meteoric rise to the sport’s penthouse. Armed with tall, talented, and fundamentally sound players, countries like Iran, Lebanon, and Jordan turned the Asian basketball scene—which in recent history was the sole dominion of the mighty Great Wall—into a veritable free-for-all.
By halftime of Gilas Pilipinas’ second game in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship, the team realized that it was in for a scuffle against Jordan, which had been a thorn on the country’s side in the past few editions of the tournament.
They were locked in a battle they looked to be on the losing side of and got an earful from coach Chot Reyes after taking a five-point deficit into the locker room.
“You cannot print what I told the players at halftime,” Reyes later said.
Jordan was certainly testing Team Philippines’ patience—and more. And it wasn’t the first time. In the past three editions of the Fiba Asia Championship, Jordan seemed to have the number of the Philippines. In 2007, Jordan defeated the Philippines in the classification round. In 2009, the Jordanians gave the Filipinos the boot in the quarterfinal phase. Then in 2011, Jordan eliminated the Philippines in the semifinals before nearly pulling the rug from under China in the championship game.
And here was Gilas Pilipinas, two quarters into Day 2, staring at another Jordanian threat. And this wasn’t even the same Jordan team that had punished the country before. Stars Rasheim Wright, Sam Daghlas, and brothers Zaid and Islam Abbas were no longer with the team. Still, with the likes of Mohammad Hadrab, naturalized player Jimmy Baxter, and Abdalla Abuqoura leading the way, Jordan stormed to an early 11-point cushion before settling for a 38-33 edge at halftime.
It certainly wasn’t looking good.
Inside the locker room, Reyes was dropping F-bombs everywhere. “We can’t f-ing play like that!” Reyes screamed at the players. “We are playing scared. We need to man up. We need to become meaner!”
When the third quarter came around, the team certainly took Reyes’ rants to heart. And then the crowd got louder and practically willed Gilas Pilipinas into a fight-back. A lot of times during the tournament, the third quarter would be a key strike area for Gilas Pilipinas. In Day 2’s third quarter, Jayson Castro started beating defenders. Jeff Chan, after keeping the Philippines within striking distance with his perimeter touch, continued making shots. Gabe Norwood clamped down hard on Baxter and delivered an all-around performance the crowd saluted after the buzzer. Gilas Pilipinas punished every Jordan miss with a transition attack.
Down six early in the third, the Philippines rattled off 17 straight points and the Mall of Asia Arena shook with lion-like roars after every basket.
“After a tight first half, coach told us to run at every opportunity,” Castro said in Filipino, giving journalists a sanitized version of Reyes’ halftime speech.
“The thing with Jordan,” Reyes said, “is that they’re very physical. And in the first half, it felt like we backed off.”
Chan, who finished with 17 points to lead the team to a 77-71 victory, said the crowd gave Gilas Pilipinas an extra push.
“They boosted our energy,” said Chan in Filipino. “When we made shots, they got loud and that helped give us momentum.”
Castro added 16 while Norwood had eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks (including a fastbreak-nullifying chase-down). More than that, the former George Mason standout in the US NCAA shouldered most of the defensive duties on Baxter and played a total of 37 minutes—the most by any Gilas Pilipinas player.
“Gabe Norwood played a helluva game against Jimmy Baxter,” said Reyes.
And with under a minute remaining, Norwood still had enough in him to sprint down the sidelines and urge an already electric crowd to get even louder.
“You can’t get tired with a crowd like that,” Norwood said.
Jordan coach Evangelos Alexandris admitted that the fans played a huge factor in the game: “The atmosphere was against us.”
But even as the arena stilled itself into silence, even after Gilas Pilipinas players shuffled off the court with a victory that provided the perfect push going into a crucial duel against Chinese Taipei, one fact was inescapable: Jordan epitomized the kind of basketball structure Middle East nations possess.
“I felt elated that we were 2-0. It was vindication against Jordan and the team was starting to click,” said Manny V. Pangilinan, who bankrolls the Gilas program. “But I think we should start opening our eyes to the fact that there are standards higher than ours and we should try to emulate what other countries are doing.”
Pangilinan mentioned the need for a stronger national basketball program. He pointed to the Middle East nations, stressing how these countries burst into basketball relevance almost suddenly after the 1990s. He cited how other countries mixed their cadet program with the senior team, leaving a spot or two for young players to gain experience.
Jordan is a good example, Pangilinan said. An emerging Middle East power, Jordan’s roster had several young players during the Fiba Asia tournament. One of these days, that young Jordan core will grow into a potent unit that will be a threat in Asian tournaments in the future. Who knows? It may even end up dealing the Philippines another crucial loss.
Luckily for Gilas Pilipinas, that loss did not happen on Day 2 of the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship.
Part 3, up Sept. 2, 12 nn, Manila time.
SERIES
Prelude: Marc Pingris, on the edge