It can be recalled that middle of this month, the Philippine team a.k.a as Sinag Pilipinas bagged the gold medal of this year’s Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

Sinag Pilipinas was primarily composed of collegiate stars blended with talented Fil-foreigners and steered by a multi-titled American coach. We all know that the competition in the Southeast Asian level is not as tough as the continental level. However, the performance of Sinag Pilipinas was a proof that even with their youth and the limited time of practice, the team managed to capture the crown with relative at ease. The closest winning margin was more than 20 that simply suggests Filipinos’ dominance in this region.

Year                 2007        2008         2009       2010         2011

Category

Seniors Men         9th          -             8th          6th           4th

Under-18 Men        -           7th           -             5th             -

Under-16 Men        -            -             4th           -              4th

There are two things that are worthy to point out for 2011. First, the continuing rise of the performance in the Seniors category and secondly, the final four appearances in both divisions. Slowly but surely, we are knocking at the door of Asia’s basketball supremacy.  This is another year to celebrate for the Filipino basketball aficionados. Again, kudos to the SBP!

Most of these teams are composed mainly of its respective national players and beefed up by two imports. Mahram of Iran, for instance, lists at least six members of its national team in this joust while Lebanon has five. The Philippines, however, waive its privilege for additional imports.

With it, this tournament already serves as a teaser to the much awaited  Fiba-Asia Championship which is also the qualifying tournament for the London Olympics.

In my previous post, ‘Road to redemption’ dated January 29, 2011, I mentioned the recent performances of the men’s national basketball teams in the three age brackets – U16, U18 and the Seniors’ squad at the Asian level.  With the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) at the helm beginning 2007, let’s take a look at how the Philippines has been on the surge. Basketball aficionados are aching to reclaim our long lost glory in Asian basketball. I consider the Asian Games and the FIBA-Asia Championship in each category only as the yardsticks.

Year                2007      2008          2009       2010

Category

Seniors Men         9th          -             8th          6th

Under-18 Men        -           7th           -             5th

Under-16 Men        -            -             4th           -

Note that for Seniors bracket, there had been three major competitions in the last four years and the Filipinos are on the uptrend. For the Under-18 squad, the last two tournaments saw the Filipino youth came up short of entering the semi-finals. But the good thing is, it performed better than the previous tournament while the youngsters in the Under-16 category finished 4^th in this age group’s maiden competition in 2009.

From all indications, it appears that Philippine basketball is on the right track. Kudos to the SBP!

Photo Courtesy: PBA.ph and Nuki Sabio

The Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team is in its crucial stages of preparation for the FIBA-Asia Championship slated this September in Wuhan, China. As of this writing, it is leading the pack among ten teams in the ongoing Commisioner’s Cup of the Philippine Basketball Associaiton (PBA). It has been agreed earlier that the current roster of the team is to be beefed up with some players from the PBA. In most cases, the final composition of the squad will be known on the eve of the final day of submission of rosters which would most likely fall on September 3 since the actual competition starts on the fifth. But this early, enthusiasts are spending hours arguing on who should make the final cut. The rest of the team will come from the PBA. On Toroman’s wish list of PBA players are Jimmy Alapag, Ryan Reyes, Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams of TnT, Sol Mercado and Asi Taulava of Meralco, James Yap of B-Meg, Jay Washington of San Miguel Beer and Sonny Thoss and Joe Devance of Alaska. In short, twenty two players will be seeking to make it to the final twelve.

Looking at the present line-up of the Gilas on a neutral perspective, I have thought on some factors in considering the final roster for the Wuhan qualifiers. First, the recent statements by coach Rajko Toroman. The Serbian mentor has been interviewed a number of times early this year about the development of the team. The Olympic veteran coach knows international basketball too well so he has the instincts on who deserves the spots whether we agree or not.

Second, the playing minutes. The logic is simple. If you play well, you have more playing time. Otherwise, the bench is your best friend.

And third, the trusted lieutenants. Obviously, a coach would rely on his best players on the crucial moments of the game.

Considering these three, it looks like JV Casio, Chris Tiu, Marcio Lassiter, Mac Baracael and (Of course) Marcus Douhtit are shoo-ins to make it to the final line-up. Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros, in contrast, are credited for their valuable contributions during practices but won’t see action in the tournament proper. This leaves Mark Barroca, Chris Lutz, Aldrech Ramos, Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter on the balance beam.

Besides, it would also depend on the overall strategy of the coaching staff for the competition. Playing small ball would most likely yield Aguilar playing the Power Forward – Center position. With it, Greg Slaughter might end up cut. Moreover, it’s possible that Toroman decides to have three point guards in Casio, Barroca and Alapag. In this case, there’s a shake up at the wings wherein Aldrech Ramos’ will be relegated on the reserved list.

Whatever it is, we have to wait until September 4, the latest, to really know who’s in and who’s out.

I was particularly delighted with the way Gilas executed their offense. It seems that they have almost mastered coach Rajko Toroman’s system. Seven players contributed in double digits highlighting an unpredictability in the scoring department. They knew how to quickly adjust to the kind of defense their opponents throw at them. The quarterbacks were confident that they could easily hurdle the mid court line when pressured. Besides, the Gilas looked organized in execution on both ends of the floor. Checking on the stats, they were able to limit TNT’s outside firepower to just 21.4% on a 6 of 28 shooting while making 9 of 23 of their own beyond the arc. Moreover, the Gilas outrebounded TNT 58-50.

However, there’s one thing that did not sit well with me on that game. That is the rotation at the Center spot. Marcus Douhtit played 43 minutes while Jason Ballesteros and Greg Slaughter combined for a measly 5 minutes throughout the game. Greg could have contributed more on inside scoring and rebounding had he been given more time on the floor.

It may be just the first game that the Gilas played so far in this tournament but with the way I see it, they have begun to reap the fruits of their labor for the past two years. It’s in the system that matters. And I think that they have a right system in place. In my previous post dated January 17, I was in doubt about the future of this team with coach Rajko Toroman at the helm. Now, I believe otherwise. I am now confident about the performance of this team in its PBA stint and the upcoming tournaments especially at the FIBA-Asia Championship in Wuhan, China this September.

In 1936, the Philippines first participated in the Olympics at Berlin in Germany finishing at fifth place from a pool of 23 counties worldwide. Likewise, it finished third in the 1954 World Championship in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. To date, these are the best records that any Asian country has ever accomplished at the world stage.

At the Asian level, Philippines used to dominate the Asian Basketball Championship, the predecessor of the FIBA-Asia Championship. On seven occasions from 1960 to 1973, the Philippine team would up gold four times and ended up second twice. Likewise, at the Asian Games, the Filipinos won four straight gold medals from 1951 until 1962.

It all started in the 1970’s when the Filipinos’ performance in international basketball started to decline. It came to its lowest point in the middle of 1990s when the Philippines could not finish better than ninth place on four occasions from 1993-1999 in FIBA-Asia Championship. At the Asian Games, the Philippines could not surpassed its silver medal performance at  Beijing in 1990. The best it could accomplish was bronze medal in 1998 at Bangkok.

Basketball in the Philippines was on a backslide then. However, from 2005 until 2007, different stakeholders had been on a roller coaster ride forming a new federation to finally end decades of disappointment. In February 2007, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP)was formally established. It paves the way for the Philippines to regain its long lost glory in the game most Filipinos have been so passionate.

The new federation’s formation has been gradually producing results. At the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship, the Philippines improved to ninth place from a fifteenth place finish in 2003, the last time it participated in that tournament. Besides, SBP revived the participation of the country in the youth competition in the U18 and U16 categories. In fact, the Phl U18 wound up seventh in 2008 from a dismal thirteenth in 2004. Two years later, the U18 team improved to the fifth spot. The U16 team, in the meantime, is the most impressive so far. In its maiden tournament in 2009 held in Johor Bahru in Malaysia, Team Pilipinas U16 almost made it to the finals but eventually settled for fourth place.

SBP is at the forefront in regaining our basketball supremacy in Asia. With the Philippines’ surging performance in the last three years of which the SBP is at the helm, we can truly say that the Filipinos are on the road to redemption in international basketball.

Photo Courtesy: Sportsnewsunlimited.com

Smart Gilas national basketball team will vie for the lone Olympic slot on September this year with Rajko Toroman at the helm. Now I doubt if it’s worth holding on to him.

Right after the debacle at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last November, SBP Executive director Noli Eala tweeted that he wouldn’t comment on anything yet pending a stakeholders’ meeting. Reading between the lines, Eala probably was referring to the coaching issue which was plagued by critics with  the dismal 6^th place finish. Scores joined the clamor for a coaching change since Toroman could not lead the team to at least a semi-final appearance. Some, however, insisted that since the ultimate goal of this program is winning the crown at this year’ FIBA-Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, it is therefore logical to keep Toroman at the helm until at the end of the program.

The latter idea prevailed.

Well, I have been closely following the Smart Gilas development program since its inception in late 2008. I agree with the copycat scheme of the Northern Cement back in the ‘80s. For two years, I had been optimistic that it would just be a matter of time before we regain our supremacy in basketball in this part of the planet. However, a 6^th place finish at the recent Asian Games was a straw that broke the camel’s back.

This year’s edition of FIBA-Asia Championship will be definitely a lot tougher than the recent Asian Games. For one, China played without Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. Besides, as for Iran, Hamed Haddadi and Samad Nikkah Bahrami weren’t  around too for various reasons. And Lebanon did not join at the biennial event at Guangzhou.

I used to be a staunch believer of Rajko Toroman in handling Smart Gilas. His credentials are far more impressive than any other coach on the local shores. His amazing feat of leading Iran back to the Olympics in 2008 is one of the highly regarded accomplishments in the international arena last decade. I never doubt his coaching genius. But there are times in your life when you’re successful in one but may not be on the other. Rajko Toroman was victorious with Iran but may not be with the Philippines. I doubt if it’s worth holding on to him.

Photo Courtesy: Newshopper.sulekha.com

After two successive setbacks in the Asian championships, China regained the golden scepter in basketball in this year’s edition of Asian Games. In 2007 FIBA – Asia Championship, Iran captured the title in Tokushima, Japan after trouncing Lebanon in the finals. The Chinese, who sent their B team, wound up 10^th. Two years later, the latter bowed to the Iranians in an unexpected blowout.  It was their best team which represented the tourney minus Yao Ming.

This year at the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China held tight to edge out the hard fighting South Koreans to regain the Asian crown.

Date: November 12-27, 2010

Host nation: China

Rank                      Team

1                           China

2                           South Korea

3                           Iran

4                           Japan

5                           Qatar

6                            Philippines

7                            Jordan

8                            North Korea