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.

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.

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

2010 FIBA-World Championship final rankings (Asian Teams)

Date: August 28 – September 12

Host Nation: Turkey

No. of Teams: 24

Rank                       Team

16                          China

19                          Iran

20                          Lebanon

23                          Jordan

Based on the performances in the recent tournaments participated by the Philippine national team, it obviously needs some key players to fill in some missing pieces of the puzzle. By the way, RP team finished fourth among seven teams in the 32^nd William Jones Cup in Taipei last July and fourth as well in the FIBA-Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut last month.

Outgoing Commissioner Sonny Barrios confirmed that SBP has indeed sent the formal request to the PBA last week. It’s just annoying to hear that, according to Barrios, some teams are not supportive to this idea. Disappointing, isn’t it? One reason they cited is its effect on the gate attendance of the PBA games since its schedule runs in conflict with Asian Games.

Looking on a wider perspective, PBA’s contribution to the national team will also benefit the PBA itself. We all agree that the addition of key players Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams and James Yap will definitely improve the RP team’s performance in the Guangzhou Games. The PBA has to accept the reality that one reason for its dwindling attendance is because of its poor showing in the international arena. PBA fans are sick and tired of watching our hardcourt heroes beaten black and blue in the Asian level competitions. A much improved stint by the RP team will surely stir back the interest to take another look at the pro league. Furthermore, once the national players complete their tour of duty, they will all turn to the PBA. Most of them, if not all, will probably join the 2011 and the 2012 PBA Draft. Again, the PBA should look at this on a wider perspective.

Moreover, a decent performance at the Asian Games will encourage our Asian neighbors to watch PBA games on their cable and digital TVs. Look at Fadi El-khatib of Lebanon, he is very much impressed with the quality of basketball here. The PBA must realize that the Asian Games is a vehicle to promote the PBA to the rest of Asia.

I hope the PBA Board grants the request of the SBP on the inclusion of three key players. After all, the PBA is not like North Korea, unless they want it to be.

Photo Courtesy: FIBA.com

Oh, I missed a couple of days in updating how the Asian teams fare in this world tourney. By now, we have known the cast for the Last 16. Unfortunately, only China survived and managed to make it to the next round. In the preliminaries, Iran won only once, against Tunisia. Like Iran, Lebanon has only a win to show and that is at the expense of Steve Nash-less Canada. Jordan bids this tournament goodbye without a win. But the fact that it’s among the world’s elite 24 is already a huge feat considering 16 Asian teams scrambled for four slots in this once-in-four years prestigious tournament.

Photo Courtesy: FIBA.com

On the second day of the tournament, China defeated last year’s FIBA-Africa finalist Cote d’Ivoire, 83-73. The three other Asian teams Iran, Jordan and Lebanon succumbed to their respective opponents. Iran dropped to Croatia, 54-75. Jordan, likewise, bowed to Angola 65-79. Angola was formerly handled by Mario Palma, now the head coach of Jordan. A day after upsetting Canada, Lebanon was crushed by France, 59-86 .

I’d like to keep abreast of how the Asian teams fare in the ongoing FIBA-World Championship in Turkey. Four out of twenty four entries come from Asia namely Iran, China, Jordan and Lebanon. The performances of the Asian teams in this competition are crucial to their request to add one more slot for Asia in the 12-team 2012 London Olympics.

On the first day of the tournament, Jordan, China and Iran ended up losing their opening matches against Australia, Greece and Brazil respectively. Jordan was narrowly defeated by Australia,75-76; China bowed to medal contender Greece, 81-89; Iran was crushed by highly fancied Brazil 65-81. Lebanon saved the day for the Asians as it upset 2009 FIBA-Americas  4^th placer Canada, 81-71.

1. Japan and Chinese-Taipei national teams can match the speed and quickness of the Philippine national team. That’s the reason the Japanese were able to hold off the Filipinos in Day 6 of the tournament, 84-74. Chinese-Taipei, likewise, pushed the Filipinos to the brink with its cat-quick reflexes among their players. Philippines edged out Chinese-Taipei,96-93 though.
2. Iran cemented its status as a powerhouse in Asia. Winning the title in this tournament in succession plus their two consecutive crowns in FIBA-Asia championship prove to be enough to be considered at par with China. Iran is loaded with quality guards that can catch the quickness of East Asians. It has reliable wingmen that can break-off zone defense and more importantly, Iran has frontline that control the shaded lane. They are truly reaping the fruits of Rajko Toroman’s labor who guided their basketball program a few years back.
3. Spotty officiating was a major issue throughout the tournament. It was at its worst during the first half of the Lebanon-Philippines game where Lebanon’s Ghaleb Reda intentionally elbowed Filipino Marcio Lassiter’s head right before the very eyes of the two referees. Lassiter went down the floor and the two referees did not bother to blow their whistles. They must have swallowed their whistles in that particular moment. I wish the organizers should try to improve the officiating so as not to lose participants in this tourney. Remember last year between Iran and Jordan? That’s the reason behind Jordan national team did not participate anymore in this year’s edition.

Twelve months later, I have written a total of 147 posts on this site. This affirms that the count to one hundred begins with one. I have been blogging about different sports stuff, may it be in boxing, basketball and a few about tennis. However, I have thought of giving more attention on basketball particularly on the various international tournaments in Asia. Starting last April, that has been the focus of this site. I find the international basketball competitions here in Asia very exciting, very stiff and competitive. Before, we’re used to seeing China and South Korea in the finals with the former eventually clinching the title in the Asian level competition. Japan, Philippines and Kazakhstan used to slug it out for a place in the elite four. But times and things have changed. It has become almost everybody’s ballgame.

It is for that reason that I have decided to focus my thoughts on the international basketball in Asia. Nonetheless, it has been a rewarding experience to blog online for one year. I am looking forward for the next twelve months as I blog more about FIBA-Asia competitions.