Basketball can be cruel, but Gilas Pilipinas has much to be proud about

MANILA, Philippines – Basketball is a cruel sport. A skilled small man will always be beaten by a big man with basic skills. The famous Filipino abilidad(ability), saksak (drive), diskarte (ingenuity) will always lose to a team chiseled by regimen and a longer training period.

Non-calls? It was to be expected in the finals of the Philippines vs China in the 2015 FIBA Asia where the hosts won 78-67. The names of referees Gordon Allan Rae and Mario Hopenhaym are in Philippine basketball lore for their whistles plus the shooting of South Korea and Japan made many Filipino cage addicts miserable in the 1960s, when the country lost its supremacy in continent. 

The words of the late guard Ed Ocampo echo from 50 years ago: “There isn’t any (chance) now,” he said in an interview for a magazine, “because these guys (Westerners) have learned to play better. Having guys who are 6-foot-5 isn’t enough. They’ll have to be taller.”

(WATCH: Heartbreak as Gilas falls to China in FIBA Asia final)

“When you have big men with you, you are confident. When you are small you get tense. You choke up and try to be extra careful,” said Ocampo in the article, which is included in a forthcoming book on Philippine international basketball campaigns. 

The reported delays by the host, tweeted by tycoon Manny Pangilinan, which included a bus that was late due to a battery that was not charged, and repairs to the Filipinos’ goal were a portent. But an old nemesis, bad free-throw shooting, haunted us all game long. 

The Chinese knew who were our key players and they floated in a zone, waiting for us to commit before they clamped down. 

In the 2013 FIBA Asia final, Iran blew away the Philippines, whose big man Marcus Douthit was injured, using their height and superb shooting.

The outcome in 2015 was to be expected as China was too tall and accurate from the wings. Tweets from Gilas fans showed their appreciation and frustration: “Yan ang gusto ko ke Abuava khet masama shooting anding makipagbasagan ng mukha! (That’s what I love about Abueva even if he’s not shooting well he’s ready for a dogfight!)” or “Hayup naman. Sinuntok sa mukha si Norwood. Walang tawag (Unbelievable. Norwood was already punched in the face. Still no call).”

When the Philippines made the semifinals, it gained a slot in the Olympic qualifying tournament which will be held in July 5-11. Out of the 16 teams which qualified from different tournaments, the top 3 squads from 3 different competitions will earn a place in the 2016 Summer Olympics basketball tournament.

(READ: Win or lose, what happens to Gilas Pilipinas’ Olympic dream?)

When one is faced with squads like France, Greece, Serbia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, Angola, Tunisia, Senegal, Japan, Iran and New Zealand, the chances of entering the Rio Olympic tournament are very slim.

While basketball fans of an older generation spent many a sleepless night after a few bottles of beer over another clash where the science of the game apparently took a back seat behind alleged hometown decisions, tomorrow the younger set will savor the kind of basketball they want: UAAP and NCAA. 

(READ: Clarkson promises ‘road to redemption’ with Gilas in 2016)

But this is not the end for this team, which overachieved much and earned its place in one of the hallowed Philippine quintets: a squad which may be older than most but played with heart as the game’s superstars shied away from the tryouts.

Pangilinan, who has funded the Gilas program for 7 years, has great reason to be proud. 

They will still have July 5-11, 2016 to look forward to and that is a high-water mark for Philippine basketball, which stayed in the doldrums until the Gilas program came. – Rappler.com