RP five slumping anew

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

RECORDS show our national basketball team’s best finish in the Olympics was a fifth place in 1936, when the games were held in Berlin. That was skippered by our kabaleyan from Lingayen, the late senator Ambrosio Padilla. It’s the best finish yet-so far-by an Asian country. And the RP five’s last of seven Olympic stints was in Munich, Germany in 1972, captained by the inarguably most admired cager, Robert Jaworski. Unfortunately we didn’t reach the semifinals.

In the Asian Games, the last of four championship titles we won was in 1962, in Jakarta, Indonesia. That RP five was composed of Lauro Mumar, Mariano Tolentino, Edgardo Ocampo and skippered by Asia’s legend, Carlos Loyzaga. Loyzaga, nicknamed “The Big Difference”, was also a member of the mythical five during the 1954 World Championship where our country won the bronze medal. That was also the best performance by an Asian country and that feat stands until now. After 1962, we were only good for silver and bronze medals. Since then, only the Chinese and the Koreans perennially battle for the gold medal In Asian Games, including the FIBA-Asia championships. The last time we won a medal (bronze) was in the 1998 Asian Games. We were fourth in 2002 and didn’t compete in 2006 because of the feud among our national basketball leaders (BAP vs. SBP)) that prompted FIBA to suspend our country in any FIBA-sanctioned competitions. That suspension is now lifted and FIBA eventually upheld the status of SBP as the country’s governing body for the sport.

We have been sending our best professional players from the PBA in the four quadrennial meets since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, including the annual William Jones Cup in Taiwan. We sent our best again in the 2009 William Jones Cup, spearheaded by naturalized Filipino citizens Asi Taulava, Gabe Norwood, Jared Dillenger, Sonny Thoss, Jayjay Helterbrand, Kelly Williams, Mick Pennisi and homegrown talents James Yap, Willie Miller, Kerby Raymundo, Japeth Aguilar, Ranidel de Ocampo, Arwind Santos and Cyrus Baguio.

Unfortunately it was another debacle for our quintet.

So far, we have an embarrassing record of a single win out of five outings. Embarrassing because we already sent our best professional athletes and it being the number one favorite sport of the Filipinos. Something is really seriously wrong. What’s happening now is like what happened in the 2007 FIBA-Asia Olympic Qualifying Tournament where our nationals landed in ninth place. And due to that letdown, FIBA has ranked us now as only the 65th among the best basketball teams in the world. It’s really ironic, di ba?

Today (Thursday), the RP five is to face title favorite Korea. Even if we beat Korea, we no longer have any chance at all to enter the second round. RP lost to Jordan 59-90, Chinese-Taipei A 77-86, Japan 85-87, and Lebanon 83-95. Our lone victim was Kazakhstan, 85-65.

“One of the reasons why our RP five continues to slump is because they lack international exposure. They should join even small overseas tournaments to familiarize themselves also with the international rules,” said Alaminos City Vice Mayor Teofilo Humilde Jr. in a text message to me. Humilde, an avid supporter of Pangasinan basketball and former boss of PBA superstar Lorde Tugade, added “sila-sila na lang ang naglalaban dito at akala nila magagaling na sila. That’s wrong.”

I watched that Lebanon-RP battle last night where the Filipinos played an erratic game, committing many turnovers and unnecessary fouls. But what I observed to be glaring about them was these nationals don’t really want to bang their bodies against their heftier opponents, thinking perhaps that in case they get badly hurt, that would mean goodbye to their professional careers. In short, their careers come first before their country.

“Di nila magaya yong mga NBA superstars sa Olympics na handa nilang isugal ang career nila, nag-sakripisyo talaga sila para sa kanilang bayan,” Humilde added.

So our RP five slumps again. We hope that when the qualifying tourney comes, they would have already jelled as a team, and no more alibis. They should be wholeheartedly patriotic, too.

Forget about the SEA Games or the SEABA Championships, the weakest and the smallest tourneys of Asia.

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