Gilas victory vs China draws comparison to Pinoy 5’s triumph over Chinese in ’86 ABC
WHILE the entire basketball national is cherishing the moment of seeing Gilas Pilipinas beating an elite Chinese squad in the FIBA Asia Cup last Wednesday night, the victory reminded of something which the Filipinos accomplished in 1986, the last time the Pinoy quintet defeated powerhouse China. More than three decades ago, this Philippine team — composed of the finest amateur players in the country and reinforced by two naturalized players — was able to beat China in the FIBA Asia Cup then known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC).
From late December 1985 to early January of 1986, the Philippine team bannered by amateur standouts Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Franz Pumaren among others and two naturalized players Jeff Moore and Dennis Still, defeated China in the finals, 82-72.
Coaching the Philippine squad was the late great Ron Jacobs and assisted by Filo Pumaren and Chris Calilan.
To date, this is the last Filipino quintet to win the FIBA Asia Cup.
For six games, the Filipinos had to grind it out, even celebrating the New Year away from home. They had to battle it out from Dec. 28, 1985 to Jan. 5, 1986 against the best in the Asian region.
The Filipinos were grouped with Japan, Jordan and Pakistan and they were able to breeze past their opponents easily.
They blasted Jordan, 81-70, on opening day then claimed the scalp of Pakistan the next day, 100-51.
Facing a more formidable Japanese side, the Philippine squad was unperturbed and waylaid their long-time tormentors, 87-70, to advance to the four-team championship round. In the old days, the championship round is played in another single round robin.
There, the Filipinos faced their biggest test in South Korea bannered by the hot-shooting Lee Chung-hee. The Korean deadshot played for their national team when they participated as a guest squad in the 1982 PBA Invitational Tournament and became the star of the squad.
In the ABC, he continued to the scourge for the Filipinos, who narrowly defeated the Koreans, 76-72. Lee would later on got a revenge of sorts as his Korean team would defeat the Philippines in the 1986 Asian Games.
After getting past the Koreans, the Filipinos next faced the host Malaysians, whom they clobbered, 75-65.
So the stage is set for the championship match between the Philippines and China, then led by Zhang Bin and Sun Fengwu.
From the get-go, the Philippines showed no signs of slowing down. They led from start to finish on their way to reclaiming Asian supremacy. Prior to winning the title, the last time the Philippines won the ABC crown was in 1973.
Had it not been for the People Power Revolution that ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos, the longterm program of the Northern Consolidated Company bankrolled by Danding Cojuangco would have continued.
The team qualified for the 1986 World Basketball Championship, but the program was scrapped when President Cory Aquino assumed power as the new Chief Executive of the Republic. —