(Just remembering last year’s blog post, in recognition of the heart, blood, sweat and tears that Team Gilas has put into EVERY game, making the rest of the world ask, ” Who are these guys?” – The Soapbox Filipina)
The recently concluded FIBA Asian Games and the team standing, of the Philippine basketball team, is pure happiness -shared by many serious basketball fanatics, in this country.
That win, ( ” a silver that glittered like gold “, as The Philippine Star puts it ) did not only belong, with those die-hard fans, but with the entire nation as well -even the likes of me.
( the likes of me, who know little about basketball )
My knowledge on basketball or any sport for that matter, is limited only, to what Chino Trinidad, Quinito Henson or rappler.com might say the following day.
I would not know what a traditional 6’10 player in basketball would mean. Or whatever they meant, by saying that coach Chot Reyes‘ short term goal actually, was that of June Mar to just SHOW UP and try the least, to look the part of the Kracken. ( a moniker he holds -by Philippine standard that is.)
I would not of course understand, how L.A. Tenorio and Jimmy Alapag, made it happen for Gary David.
I even wondered if the Japanese players, did a double take, upon seeing Gabe Norwood swished passed right through them.
At one point, were they also like me, who asked:
“You don’t say…but was that just the 44th President of the United States of America? “
“…donned in a no.10 jersey, for the Philippines? “
Then you would let him pass your guard, wouldn’t you?
1. My country, the Philippines, is a 7,107-island basketball country.
It is a country with a demographic fact, which includes, ninety-seven million as its population.
We are divided into ethnic groups such as: Cebuano, Ilocano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Waray, Surigaonon, Hiligaynon and Basketball Aficionados.
We may be further divided, according to cities and barangays: Lungsod ng Crispa at Toyota and Barangay Ginebra.
Sometimes, we are divided according to t.v. stations: A kapuso, a kapamilya or a kapatid or the PBA Channel.
We as a nation come together, regardless of ethnicity, through instances such as the Edsa Revolution and even primetime soaps, such as, ” My Husband’s Lover.”
Nevertheless, basketball is a unifying component in a Filipino community.
*If only it would have been possible, to conduct peace negotiations through a game of basketball:
Sports headlines would then read as :
MNLF leading, Phil. Gov’t. down by three …
Nur at the baseline…Cabinet Secretary fast breaks and dunks.
Nur for three… or tri-poli agreement .
*If only it would have been possible, to make the Filipino people, run after our Government officials regarding pork barrel, through a game of basketball:
Janet Napoles, shoots and fades away…( where to?)
Senators, Congressmen… FAKE IT, then attempts a 3-pointer.
But the FILIPINO PEOPLE blocks …then fastbreak, lay-up.
2. Almost every male in this country love basketball.
They are born with an xb chromosome with b=basketball, rather than just the predominantly male, x= male chromosome.
They sound like they swallowed, an entire handbook for basketball in their
pre-kinder years.
You cannot fool them.
Even before referees give out, the exact call or violation, made, the Filipino audience, the males most especially, already had.
Basketball referees in my country, must have had, for certain, in this lifetime, been cursed with various cuss words from at least five different dialects.
( especially, when they made bad calls during a game.)
Most male residents, stand on an average height of 1.62 meters. But it never was a deterrent, when encouraging basketball players.
I guess, a 5’3″- Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues and 5’7″ –Anthony “Spud” Webb , were inspirations enough,so there was no stopping my country, was there?
What our players lacked in height, we made up for, “diskarte” as Jonathan Yabut, the first winner of The Asian Apprentice reality show, might have said.
( yeah man, Tony Fernandez hired a Filipino for his airline. )
( Think Jayson Castro William, as he drove and BLURRED through three gigantic Iranians, 7’2 Hamed Haddadi included. )
3. Basketball gives the name to our children.
Other countries might have children named Roosevelt, Kennedy, Eisenhower and even a Kanye.
While there are persons and children in my country, walking around in names like :
Michael Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Isaiah, Kobe, Lebron, Rajon, Rodman, Dwayne, Mïyame and Leíhkers.
Therefore, I share in the enthusiasm that someday, the next generation of children in my country, most likely will have more FIBA-GILAS sounding names:
Perhaps a Jimmy, Jayson, Ranidel, Japeth, Jeff, Gary, L.A. and maybe a June Mar.
4. The top five tough occupations in the Philippines are as follows:
a. To be The President of the country
( and you are criticized, as to the merits and faults, of having a sister who has a thing for basketball players )
b. To be congressman or senator
( and you have a pork barrel scam to your name…
“FIBA fever is over.
So coming live from the MOA arena, back to you JANET. “)
c. To be Manny Pacquiao
( from boxing to running… running for congress and yes, basketball too )
d. To be a basketball commentator
( you are dispensable of course, you have to cling dearly to your job, with ’round and about, 25 million Filipinos gunning for it.)
e. To be a coach for the Philippine team.
( you get bombarded by netizens on twi’rr for cutting someone like Beau Belga from the team. It is a tough occupation to be a coach for the Philippine Basketball Team. You have to die trying. Thank you for trying to die out there Coach Chot.) .
However, I may not be your proverbial, ” walang alam sa basketball. ” ( mukhang meron naman pala, ka-unti.)
To start with, I had my father and four brothers to influence me. My father, like most in the Philippine setting, is a basketball fan. As an N.B.A. fan, I could not remember though, if he was a Philadelphia 76ers or an L.A. Lakers fan. Our old printing press back in the eighties, had posters of Julius Erving and the younger Magic Johnson on its wall.
As for the P.B.A., my father must have been “a Crispa one”.
In my childhood, I remember only of two people who my father spoke about, a lot. The first was Homobono Adaza and the other one was Abet Guidaben. The reason was obvious enough, of course, for both come from Camiguin -where my father hails.
I had brothers, who played basketball in little leagues and/or summer leagues.
In my family, like any Filipino family, especially one with a great number of male members, the living room is sacred, especially during NBA Finals or PBA Conferences or whatever basketball finals there is, on t.v.
Therefore, I knew a foul when I saw one. I acquired a vocabulary which includedthe triangle offense, the number one draftee, the All Filipino, the MVP and the import.
When I came to the university, I had to watch U-double A-P to support my team. (plus, it was of course a requirement for my P.E. 1 class.)
( ” Gusto ko talagang makasali ng isang beses man lang ang Maroons sa U.A.A.P. Finals. ” ” At sawa na din ma exempted lagi ang iskolar ng bayan sa finals.” “Siguradong all sparks na kwento yun sa, “Narinig ko sa U. P”… at overheard na overheard yun.” )
I did not come meeting my husband in the future, without knowing at least the team point guard, shooting guard, power forward or small forward and center.
My husband, of course, is someone whom many experts may i.d., as “an exact match to the profile of a serial Filipino basketball fan.”
Need not to mention him having read biographies, of many NBA greats and PBA legends.
While incidentally, he once graced an invitation for a niece’s christening, where he became godparent, with other PBA basketball players.
My husband was at the M.O.A. Arena for five of those monumental games.
( games played against the countries: Jordan, Hongkong, Kazakhstan, Korea and Iran.)
He was part of the boisterous crowd that revved up The Smart Gilas.
or as The Philippine Star described it best,
” The 6th Man “.
( a shout out of thanks to his brother Chardy, my sister-in-law Avic, Avic’s brother Jon Umandap, his good friend Fed Pang Jr, our friends Atty. Jomar and Marica Castillo for having thought of putting aside a ticket for him, for all those games )
I can never be prouder of my Philippine team. Inspite all the odds, they never gave up. ( game after game… after game.)
As the coach said in a spiel, for a television show teaser: ” Remember who we’re playing for, gentlemen. “
