Why one win matters

MANILA, Philippines – I don’t get how some people think winning a game on the world’s biggest stage is tantamount to being mediocre. How hard is it to understand that by pushing much higher-ranked teams to the limit and coming away with a win (not to mention the admiration of our opponents), we have exceeded expectations?  

And, NO, this also does not mean that we have “low expectations” of Gilas, or that Gilas “aimed low.” Believe me, Gilas aims for much bigger things, but the fact is playing in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, despite being a monumental achievement in itself, is just a step. It’s one step in Philippine basketball’s journey to becoming not just a regional power, but a global power. In that frame, winning one game is a huge step in moving forward through that process because the effects of that one win (and even the close losses) will make future iterations of Gilas much better.

It would be mediocre if winning one game in Spain was the end in mind. 

But it is not.

Besides, when the new FIBA rankings come out, that one win (along with our third place finish in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup) will go a long way in making the Philippines overtake several countries. It’s reasonable to hope that we might find Gilas ranked in the mid to late 20s. 

It’s a realistic enough prospect for our boys to place higher than Korea, Jordan, and Lebanon, and then close in on Iran and a slumping China. 

We are not celebrating a lonely win. 

We are celebrating the continued rise of Philippine basketball.

And nothing is mediocre about that.

So before you criticize people for “over-celebrating” that one win, please think again because that one triumph means so much more than a digit on the win column. – Rappler.com

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