BAKIT?
PUSO.
For the second straight FIBA Asia Championship, the Philippines has finished second. That is impressive, really it is, even if we again fell short of our ultimate goal. For perspective, before these back-to-back silver finishes, our last podium finish was way back in 1985 when we won the gold. Between 1985 and 2015, our highest finishes were 4th (1987), 4th (2011 - Gilas 1.0), and 2nd (2013 - Gilas 2.0). So at the very least, we can say that the Philippines is competitive again and is back as one of the beasts of Asia. I can firmly say that we are (at least) the 3rd best team in Asia, probably closing in on Iran as the 2nd best.
That being said, I refuse to say that we won the silver medal because what happened was we lost the gold. Eyes on the prize all the time! As a friend put it, "Di naman sa maangas tayo, pero nakakasawa na ang silver at bronze. Kaya naman kasi kung tutuusin eh."
I honestly feel we are on the cusp of the next golden age of PH-International Basketball. The national team program is revived (and hopefully keeps on getting stronger), public awareness and engagement has been on an all-time high compared to years passed, and the skills of our players are on the uprise.
I honestly feel we are on the cusp of the next golden age of PH-International Basketball. The national team program is revived (and hopefully keeps on getting stronger), public awareness and engagement has been on an all-time high compared to years passed, and the skills of our players are on the uprise.
With the Olympic Qualifiers as well as future FIBA Asia tournaments coming up, I will talk about my ideal Gilas Pilipinas 4.0 line up in this post. I'm sure that all of you have your own ideas, so you are welcome to both agree and disagree. But before going to the line-up, let's state the assumptions for this line up.
