COACH Tim Cone did not have to refer to tested analysts, or use charts and team statistics, in order to come up with a direct diagnosis on the Barangay Ginebra team.
The moment Cone was tapped to take over the very popular people’s squad, he ticked off the crippling points: Anemic, unreliable defense and sickening manpower imbalance.
Of course, countless Barangay Ginebra devotees have all along been harboring the similar suspicion on why the Gin Kings franchise has been without a single crown the past seven years.
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If it took San Miguel Corp. top man Ramon Ang some time to tap coach Cone to resuscitate Team Ginebra, it must be the belief that there was still some of the legendary never-say-die spirit running in the team’s dry veins.
The team ills continued to glare, and got aggravated conference after conference, to a point when many exasperated Ginebra diehards have considered reneging on their lifetime allegiance.
Now, suddenly, hope rings bright and clear among Ginebra team fanatics.
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Just fine. However, it would be downright silly to expect an instant Ginebra crown in the next conference or in the conference after that.
Reason: Ramon Ang may have come up with the right solution in coach Cone, but there are deeper afflictions that can’t be instantly remedied even by the best experts out there.
Ginebra, above all, will have to undergo serious detoxification and restructuring, to mention only a couple serious flaws.
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With air pollution soaring to hazardous levels, a report said, the Philippine Olympic Committee is considering moving the national athletes to alternate training centers outside the metropolis.
“Sad to say, we will have to endure this kind of environment,” said Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia.” We have nowhere to go.”
He added: “We plan to bring the athletes where the environment is fresh. By doing this, we can give our athletes an equal chance against their opponents in international meets.”
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That diagnosis and proposed remedy may indeed have some credence. But the fact that it was forwarded as clinical truth calls for a serious evaluation.
For one, unlike with the Cone prognosis, this reading on our national athletes is being forwarded by a non-expert.
To recall, at least two young senators had earlier made a proposal for the establishment of a well-furnished, scientifically equipped sports agency to help the PSC and POC upgrade the state of Philippine sports.
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The foul environment may have something to do with low-grade performance of our national athletes.
But there are deeper ills, and our sports leaders cannot afford to just second-guess and come up with unreliable self-serving remedies.
They need to seek out competent and objective sports development experts who could always provide a thorough and honest clinical diagnosis.