It’s never easy to cover or watch the Philippine national basketball team.
If other countries go bananas over football, we go nuts for basketball. It’s our passion and game, no matter what critics say about our supposedly misguided love for a sport that will most likely never reward us with a world title or Olympic medal.
But we watch with anxiety every time the Philippines plays, whether it’s against the world’s best and biggest teams because it’s our team and game.
And perhaps the passion reaches fever pitch when we play against Asia’s best. When we’re in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association, Fiba Asia or the Jones Cup, we follow the games closely because we do have a chance against the region’s elite teams.
Keep in mind we were Asia’s best for a very long time, years before the rest of the field hired foreign coaches and traveled extensively to hone their basketball skills. The power has clearly shifted but the Philippines remains a team to be feared because individually our players still stand out against many Asian stars.
Our anxious viewing is understandable because we want to win. But we have to understand that our opponents have grown bigger and have sharpened their individual skills, especially three-point shooting.
Opponents also have a stronger tendency to play a team game to compensate for their individual deficiencies. Culture plays a role in team sports and Asian countries that have infused values like a strong esprit d’ corps in favor of personal gain have done relatively well against the individual talents of Philippine teams.
Though lacking in experience, the Gilas squad that played in the Jones Cup will provide the country with a steady stream of talent and a core built on team goals for a long time.
The Gilas Cadets share relatively the same age and their interests and dreams will find common ground. They will still keep up us all on pins and needles because their inexperience will show even as their talent and enthusiasm come to fore.
The tournament format is also unkind as the teams played everyday for a week. What’s more, there was no playoff round with the eventual champion, Canada, the team with the most wins. That’s a tall order for any squad.
But we all love a Gilas team that never gives up and in the battles against Chinese Taipei A and Japan, there was an ample supply of heart and passion. That’s more than what we can ask for from our team in this game we are all so madly in love with.