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Soaked in basketball
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Cariaso
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DESPITE the definitive ennui that the PBA brought forth this
season, basketball is still my favorite sport. But then the
PBA is not the only league in the world. There's always the
NBA where the Lakers are lording it over the competition and
the exciting UAAP tournament where the De La Salle Green Archers
are getting to be unstoppable. With its big stars donning
the National colors, the PBA is a total bore. Two imports,
amateur rules, that fail to crack it, for me at least. Or
maybe I’m merely a rotten sour grape. My PBA team was
losing and favorite player didn't make it to the darling squad.
As the Asian Games draw near, unfolding September 29 to October
14 in Pusan, South Korea., this year has been a down time
for Philippine Basketball. PBA ratings are down, so is the
attendance. (I'm not the only disgruntled one). The other
league, the MBA, even ceased operations, drowning in the flood
of financial uncertainty. The burning question of the times
- what will happen to the MBA players? The Philippines also
suffered a humiliating setback, a dismal, unforgivable fourth
place finish at the Southeast Asian Basketball Association
(SEABA) under-18 tournament in Kuala Lumpur just recently.
RP succumbing to its ASEAN rivals is unthinkable. Do they
care about basketball in Thailand? No, for the Thais, the
English Premier League is a religion.
Coming into Pusan, despite an All-PBA line-up, the mood is
not positive for the Selecta RP Team. We have to be realistic.
Defending champion China is formidable. South Korea may challenge
but will settle for silver. Lebanon qualified for the World
Championship and a threat for a medal. Kazakhstan who gave
the Philippines a scare in Bangkok four years ago is also
a strong contender. Where does that leave the RP five? Actually,
I have no idea.
Compared to past RP teams since 1990, when we started sending
PBA players to the Asian games, our present crop of warriors
are taller, quicker, we can say younger, but surely more talented.
We have big men who can move and pivot. Comprising the class
of 2002 are 6-9 Asi Taulava, 6-5 Eric Menk, 6-1 Jeffrey Cariaso,
6-5 Danny Seigle, 5-11 Olsen Racela, 6-2 Dondon Hontiveros,
6-10 Andy Seigle, 6-6 Dennis Espino,6-4 Rudy Hatfield, 6-3
Kenneth Duremdes, 6-1 Noy Castillo and 6-6 Danny Ildefonso.
As announced, 6-9 Mick Pinnisi, 5-9 Boyet Fernandez and 6-4
Chris Jackson are the alternates. Out of the 15, only six
are true-blue Pinoys - Ildefonso, Espino, Duremdes, Hontiveros,
Racela and Fernandez. The rest are foreign born and bred.
But that's a non-issue. As long as they're approved by the
DOJ, they're Filipinos and it's also a non-factor when you
think that China's Yao Ming is 7-6 and the NBA's top rookie
pick in June.
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Yao
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The Chinese are taller than us and has transformed into one
of the world's finest. At the World Championships this September,
they were deadly, in the first round, they pushed Team USA,
composed of NBA players, to rely heavily on defense to get
past the pesky Yao Ming, Mengke Bateer and cohorts.
Maybe it's wishful thinking to replicate the silver medal
in Beijing in 1990 but we still have a chance for the bronze.
Miracles do happen. But reality check - the Philippines is
lagging behind the competition in Asia. Will Taulava and company
bring us the "pasalubong" we want from Pusan? It
would take a lot of mulling and pondering if we won't make
it to the podium. Why are our Asian neighbors growing so tall?
Why are they playing so good? What does it take to reach their
level?
The answers lie within us. Too much politics revolve around
our programs. Bickering over nothing is part of our culture.
For the fans, I guess, rather than wallow over basketball
in the Asian Games, we should cheer on our pool players or
our boxers, who have amazing chances to capture gold medals.
Even if the Pusan stint proved to be unsuccessful for the
Selecta RP Team, there's still something to look forward for.
There's the All Filipino conference in the PBA, where we'll
finally see Eric Menk don the Ginebra jersey. The NBA is set
to unveil in November with Yao Ming manning the center slot
for the Houston Rockets. Yes, we're we are all curious how
he'll fare against the likes of Shaq. *
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