Blatche doubtful for Asian Games

By Al S. Mendoza

 

THAT 1-4, win-loss card result wasn’t bad per se.

This was the Fiba World Cup, where the globe’s best 24 nations in basketball were present.

No, we didn’t battle all 23 countries present in Seville, Spain.

We were in one of four groups of six teams each where the top four countries from every bracket advanced to the Round of 16.

We lost to Croatia (78-81 overtime), Greece (70-82), Argentina (81-85) and Puerto Rico (73-77).

Those were close calls, meaning we lost in closely-fought contests.

We could have beaten Croatia, Argentina and Puerto Rico but for breaks not going our way.

Finally, the elusive breaks were with us in our last game, resulting in an 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal.

The good thing about our triumph over Senegal was, it was fashioned out against a determined foe even as Senegal was already assured of a slot in the next round.

But despite the loss, lowly Senegal moved ahead together with Croatia, Greece and Argentina, with Puerto Rico and Gilas Pilipinas left behind.

We also had a chance to defeat Puerto Rico, but NBA player JJ Barea kept slashing the lane with impeccable courage to almost single-handedly carry his team to victory.

Had we overcome Puerto Rico, we could have bagged the fourth and last ticket to the Round of 16.

But that’s all water under the bridge now.

In retrospect, we did well in Spain mainly for three reasons:  1) Naturalized 6-foot-11 Andray Blatche performed as expected together with Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood and June Mar Fajardo; 2) Our three-point shooters like Jimmy Alapag, Jeff Chan, LA Tenorio, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jason Castro and Paul Lee clicked; and, 3) We played as a team almost 100 percent all the way.

Next mission will be the Asian Games from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

With the lessons learned in Spain, we could now seriously gun for the basketball gold in Incheon, South Korea.

(And no, we didn’t oust the Koreans from the Fiba World Cup as reported here last week; they were there as third placers in the 2013 Fiba Asia Cup behind Iran and Gilas.)

But what is this hump we need to hurdle regarding the eligibility in Incheon of Blatche, whose inclusion into the Gilas lineup is being questioned by South Korea citing the three-year residency requirement in Asian Games rules for all naturalized citizens?

If Blatche won’t make it to South Korea, it could probably mean goodbye to our dream of winning the Asiad basketball gold we last won in 1962 in Jakarta.

Some sectors say the Koreans, the defending champions, are afraid of Blatche that’s why they want the Gilas center disqualified.

There is an iota of truth to that.

As hosts, the Koreans can skirt, if not bend, rules to their advantage.

Who said sportsmanship is alive and kicking?

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