FIBA Asia 2009
Bleacher Talk
August 16, 2009
FIBA Asia 2009
For the record, Team Pilipinas’ quest for a slot at the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey is over. Yesterday’s loss to Jordan was both painful and heartbreaking. It knocked us out of contention and relegated us to a best possible finish of fifth or worst-case scenario eighth. But more importantly, the FIBA Asia Championships has opened our eyes to the reality on the status of Philippine basketball in the region. For starters, we’re definitely a top eight team (good or bad news whatever way you take it). Cracking the top four is going to be a tough but still realistic goal in the future. Another given is China. They’ll remain to be Asia’s top team even without a healthy Yao Ming. The surprise for some although it’s getting to be a habit is that the Western Asia countries have taken over. Iran, Lebanon and Jordan have become Asia’s new powers knocking out the Eastern side of Asia.
And for us Philippines, even an eighth place finish will be acceptable given the circumstances as to how we prepared for the tournament. Coach Yeng Guiao couldn’t have said it better as reported by Nelson Beltran of Philippine Star. “Although disappointed over the loss, Guiao said there’s a positive side to their FIBA-Asia stint. “Given a few more months of preparation, we really can compete with the best in FIBA Asia,” Guiao said.
“A few more months of preparation” is like saying that we didn’t prepare at all for a tournament of this magnitude. Or better yet, “a few more months” is an indicator of how serious we were in this dream of qualifying for the Worlds in 2010. All this boils down to asking ourselves if we truly want to get back to the top again. If we want to get back to the top, are we going to prepare for future FIBA Asia Championships in the same way as we did this year? We all have to remember that although the national team pool was formed last year, the team wasn’t able to practice regularly as a complete team for a long period of time. In fact, I don’t even think they enjoyed a full week of practice with everyone present. Some were either injured or busy with their commitments to their mother ballclubs. In sum, our preparation for the tournament was “bitin.”
And this leads us to ask: What is the best way to prepare the country for the big tournaments of the future? The Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) has indicated that Guiao’s team may be the last team composed of PBA players to see action in international play. The SBP has formed the Smart Gilas developmental team which is designed to serve as the training pool for all future national teams. Former Iranian national team coach Rajko Toroman was tapped to form and train the squad which is composed of top amateur players such as Mark Anthony Barocca, Chris Tiu, Mark Baracael, and Cebu’s Greg Slaughter among others. UC’s June Mar Fajardo is also on their wish list while American CJ Giles is also being considered for naturalization to beef up the team. The team has practiced as a team and has played in a few tournaments overseas. The big idea is to have the team intact through 2012 when the Philippines plays in the FIBA Asia Olympic Qualifier in 2011. If successful, a stint at the 2012 Olympics would be the ultimate goal of a dream.
But the big question and arguments will still remain. After seeing the competition at the FIBA Asia Championships, will the Smart Gilas team bloom quickly to become a top four Asia power by the time 2011 rolls around? Or will it be better to tap the PBA as the main pool of players of the national team, and give it a long period of time to practice and play together as a squad? With all due respect to the SBP, the Smart Gilas team played well in international play primarily because of CJ Giles. You take away Giles, and we’re just another ordinary team. Moreover, tapping an American to represent us Pinoys will bring in a lot of more howls of protest even from diehard Pinoy fans. They’d rather go down fighting as a group of Pinoys rather than win with an American sans Pinoy blood on board.
As we saw at the FIBA Asia games, the country’s best from the PBA can compete with the rest of Asia even if they spent minimal time practicing together as a team. They relied more on their individual talents and skills to get through, as gelling and team chemistry wasn’t difficult to achieve. As a matter of fact, the level of team play shown by the team was already excellent given the circumstances. The key to playing well as a team is having the national team practice and play together for a longer period of time.
And this is where the PBA has to bite the bullet and make the sacrifice to make a major adjustment to accommodate two things. First, they should adjust their schedule to synch with the international calendar. If all other countries can (even the U.S.), why can’t we do it? Secondly, players must be made available to practice with the team. The national training pool of as many as 20 players should be given the chance to practice together if possible all-year long, even in the middle of a PBA tournament. Weekly practices during the season won’t hurt, and this should increase to daily practices session in the off-season. Effects of this won’t be felt overnight, but as the months and years go by, they’ll be playing together as a unit before you know it. The national team coach should also be a full-time position so he can remain objective and can work with a long-term program that will include recruitment, in-depth study of the international game and scouting.
The FIBA Asia 2009 and our quest for Turkey is done. Looking forward, 2011 is only two years away. But if we start doing something now, I’m sure our dreams of a slot at the 2012 Olympics won’t be too far-fetched.
oOo
Time-out: We are asking all to pray for the repose of the soul of Ricardo “Dick” Verches who passed way Friday. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
August 16, 2009
FIBA Asia 2009
For the record, Team Pilipinas’ quest for a slot at the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey is over. Yesterday’s loss to Jordan was both painful and heartbreaking. It knocked us out of contention and relegated us to a best possible finish of fifth or worst-case scenario eighth. But more importantly, the FIBA Asia Championships has opened our eyes to the reality on the status of Philippine basketball in the region. For starters, we’re definitely a top eight team (good or bad news whatever way you take it). Cracking the top four is going to be a tough but still realistic goal in the future. Another given is China. They’ll remain to be Asia’s top team even without a healthy Yao Ming. The surprise for some although it’s getting to be a habit is that the Western Asia countries have taken over. Iran, Lebanon and Jordan have become Asia’s new powers knocking out the Eastern side of Asia.
And for us Philippines, even an eighth place finish will be acceptable given the circumstances as to how we prepared for the tournament. Coach Yeng Guiao couldn’t have said it better as reported by Nelson Beltran of Philippine Star. “Although disappointed over the loss, Guiao said there’s a positive side to their FIBA-Asia stint. “Given a few more months of preparation, we really can compete with the best in FIBA Asia,” Guiao said.
“A few more months of preparation” is like saying that we didn’t prepare at all for a tournament of this magnitude. Or better yet, “a few more months” is an indicator of how serious we were in this dream of qualifying for the Worlds in 2010. All this boils down to asking ourselves if we truly want to get back to the top again. If we want to get back to the top, are we going to prepare for future FIBA Asia Championships in the same way as we did this year? We all have to remember that although the national team pool was formed last year, the team wasn’t able to practice regularly as a complete team for a long period of time. In fact, I don’t even think they enjoyed a full week of practice with everyone present. Some were either injured or busy with their commitments to their mother ballclubs. In sum, our preparation for the tournament was “bitin.”
And this leads us to ask: What is the best way to prepare the country for the big tournaments of the future? The Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) has indicated that Guiao’s team may be the last team composed of PBA players to see action in international play. The SBP has formed the Smart Gilas developmental team which is designed to serve as the training pool for all future national teams. Former Iranian national team coach Rajko Toroman was tapped to form and train the squad which is composed of top amateur players such as Mark Anthony Barocca, Chris Tiu, Mark Baracael, and Cebu’s Greg Slaughter among others. UC’s June Mar Fajardo is also on their wish list while American CJ Giles is also being considered for naturalization to beef up the team. The team has practiced as a team and has played in a few tournaments overseas. The big idea is to have the team intact through 2012 when the Philippines plays in the FIBA Asia Olympic Qualifier in 2011. If successful, a stint at the 2012 Olympics would be the ultimate goal of a dream.
But the big question and arguments will still remain. After seeing the competition at the FIBA Asia Championships, will the Smart Gilas team bloom quickly to become a top four Asia power by the time 2011 rolls around? Or will it be better to tap the PBA as the main pool of players of the national team, and give it a long period of time to practice and play together as a squad? With all due respect to the SBP, the Smart Gilas team played well in international play primarily because of CJ Giles. You take away Giles, and we’re just another ordinary team. Moreover, tapping an American to represent us Pinoys will bring in a lot of more howls of protest even from diehard Pinoy fans. They’d rather go down fighting as a group of Pinoys rather than win with an American sans Pinoy blood on board.
As we saw at the FIBA Asia games, the country’s best from the PBA can compete with the rest of Asia even if they spent minimal time practicing together as a team. They relied more on their individual talents and skills to get through, as gelling and team chemistry wasn’t difficult to achieve. As a matter of fact, the level of team play shown by the team was already excellent given the circumstances. The key to playing well as a team is having the national team practice and play together for a longer period of time.
And this is where the PBA has to bite the bullet and make the sacrifice to make a major adjustment to accommodate two things. First, they should adjust their schedule to synch with the international calendar. If all other countries can (even the U.S.), why can’t we do it? Secondly, players must be made available to practice with the team. The national training pool of as many as 20 players should be given the chance to practice together if possible all-year long, even in the middle of a PBA tournament. Weekly practices during the season won’t hurt, and this should increase to daily practices session in the off-season. Effects of this won’t be felt overnight, but as the months and years go by, they’ll be playing together as a unit before you know it. The national team coach should also be a full-time position so he can remain objective and can work with a long-term program that will include recruitment, in-depth study of the international game and scouting.
The FIBA Asia 2009 and our quest for Turkey is done. Looking forward, 2011 is only two years away. But if we start doing something now, I’m sure our dreams of a slot at the 2012 Olympics won’t be too far-fetched.
oOo
Time-out: We are asking all to pray for the repose of the soul of Ricardo “Dick” Verches who passed way Friday. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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