My response to post Gilas loss to Italy: We go. Again.

We go. Again.

by rick olivares

In the wake of the Philippines’ 108-62 loss to Italy in the Fiba World Cup, you have people saying that we should stop putting our focus on basketball but turn our attention and efforts to other sports.

While I do agree that other sports should be given attention, supporting, financing, and whatnot, that doesn’t mean we should abandon basketball. Does it follow that if we focus on tennis or football we will have a shot as some huge titles? Not necessarily. 

What other countries have basketball as their national sport – Lithuania, Israel, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Georgia, Venezuela, and Slovenia. Many other countries have basketball as a second sport either to football or hockey. If you look at the aforementioned countries, not many of them have won international titles in the basketball. Even footballing nations like England – and for a time, Spain and France – Colombia, and Chile haven’t really won much in international football Must they abandon that sport in favor of rugby, cricket, or basketball which is growing there as well?

When football picked up in the Philippines in 2011, our national team has won some and lost a bunch of heartbreakers. But we still go at it. Yet even in the midst of these runs, you have some quarters calling the team out for a lack of homegrown flavor (with more Filipinos born overseas dominating the roster). Everyone has something to say.

Being immersed in the local music scene, I often hear local musicians say that we Filipinos are some of the best musicians in the world. Maybe. Maybe not? But why do we blow our own horn? Others should say that. And well, name me one international breakout star who commands huge audiences, headlines, album sales? Lea Salonga? Freddie Aguilar did – for one song. Anyone else?

The losses in the international arena are painful, galling, and sometimes embarrassing.

Remember when our first all-PBA team got smashed in the 1990 Asian Games? The crowds at the Big Dome were sparse after that. 

The funny thing is people love to point to the PBA all the time as to blame for these losses. Hasn’t it occurred to you that many other countries have pro leagues as well and that doesn’t stop them from being good at the sport. 

Can it not also be that other countries – especially our Asian neighbors have either caught up or leapfrogged past us in the sport? How about boxing? There was a time when we had a number of champions in different eight classes. Now? Hmm. Does that stop our boxers from going at it again and again heartbreak aside? No. 

Time was in basketball our toughest rivals were China, Japan, and South Korea. In the past 10-15 years, the West Asian or Middle eastern countries have become powers in their own right. Now the Oceania countries Australia and New Zealand have joined the bracket and have made everything triply harder. 

And mind you, not many of them use naturalized players? 

Take a look at Iran. Are their players of mixed races? Nope. Do they have naturalized players on their roster? The rise of Iran as a basketball power is simply incredible. 

They put in a program that they have nurtured through the years. 

Us? Well, one of the national sports is nitpicking. And once more, many are playing that game. 

The funny thing is after every Asian Games or Olympics, there is this litany of finger-pointing and anger towards this and that. How we should do this and that and not do this and not do that. 

Yes, it can be disappointing and exasperating. We just go again and try to solve the problems. That’s part of the game.