“A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That’s how I want you to play.” –Mike Krzyzewski
It is not news if the Philippines loses a game in the ongoing FIBA Basketball World Cup. Fans should refrain from bellyaching and finger-pointing as it has been expected since the tournament began in 1950. Filipino basketball fans should not be trying to convince themselves that Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine men’s national basketball team, would be able to be logistically superior opponents.
News would be upsetting a team from Europe or the Americas.
Losing 108-62 to Italy was not news (despite it being a massacre—or as the Italians would call it “massacre”) but Gilas should not lose like that.
During the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Philippines did better, despite hairline defeats to Argentina, Croatia, and Puerto Rico—and they beat Senegal!
Supremacy in sport is measured by economic standing
A struggling third world country that happens to qualify for high-level sporting events, a World Cup or Olympics, will likely be blown away by economically superior nation. Poor countries are limited in financial support for athletes and training while rich countries pamper their athletes.
Looking at the Olympics, the dominant countries also control the world economy—USA, China, Japan, Germany.
Will there ever be a Philippine national basketball team comprised of pure Filipinos?
The third place finish at the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup was unexpected and it was different from the 1954 FIBA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where an all-Filipino national team came in third.
In 1954, the Philippines didn’t have players like Andray Blatche, recruited from abroad to reinforce the squad. Homegrown players suited up for the Philippines that year, beating the likes of Taiwan, Israel, Canada, and Uruguay.
Despite eventually losing to that year’s champion, USA, and the runner-up, Brazil, it was still the country’s greatest moment in basketball.
Carlos ‘The Big Difference’ M. Loyzaga was instrumental during the era. The two-time Olympian turned 84 last month and is regarded as the “greatest Pinoy cager” of his era. He earned four consecutive Asian Games gold medals and two consecutive FIBA Asia Championships for the country.
To add prestige to the 1954 FIBA World Cup campaign, Loyzaga wound up being one of the tournament’s leading scorers with, averaging 16.4 points-per-game.
It’s hard to duplicate Loyzaga’s achievements. There could be many promising basketball players inspired by Gilas Pilipinas but another Loyzaga will likely not be produced within the next 50 years.
What happened in Rio will not happen in China.
With basketball in Europe, along with North and Central America, improving by leaps and bounds, it will probably never happen again.
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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ