An insult to Filipino amateur players and coaches
THE Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) must have hurt to no end at the national team’s escapade in the just-ended FIBA World Cup that it decided to field an all-PBA side in the lowly Southeast Asian Games.
Team Pilipinas, as everybody now knows, landed dead last of the 32 teams entered in the World Cup held in several key cities in China.
The basketball’s ruling body this part of the world even appointed PBA’s winningest coach Tim Cone, a two-time Grand Slam champion, formerly in Alaska and, lately in San Mig Coffee, now Purefoods Hotshots.
This 30th edition of the biennial conclave the country is hosting late this year, will, thus, mark the first time in the history of the Philippine’s participation that it will be represented in the nation’s favorite pastime by an all-pro selection handled by an American mentor.
If you ask the ordinary men and women basketball fans on the streets, the twin moves by the SBP is tantamount to an “overkill.” Not only that, Mang Kiko, my cab driver suki stressed, “Angplano nilang‘yanayisananamangmariing amateur player at Pilipinong coach.”
Mang Kiko asked: “Ganoonnaba talagaangtinginngatingmgaopisyal sabasketbolsaatingmgaPilipinong manlalaroat coach? “He was referring to a statement attributed to Cone that he would rather choose the pros in forming the PH team because of the proximity of the SEA Games that amateurs might not understand what he would be teaching them.
“Anobapagkakilalan’yasamga amateur players natin, ganoonkatatanga?Mgatangabaangmgataga- Ateneo, La Salle, UST, UE at FEU? (Does he think Filipino players are stupid? Are Ateneo, La Salle, UST, UE, FEU players stupid?) Hindinamanposiguro,” Mang Kiko assured.
Another friend, a neighbor, actually, likewise, lambasted local basketball high priests in announcing that plans are also afoot to hire a European coach to handle the Philippine team for the 2013 World Cup which the country is also hosting that year. Besides naturalizing former NBA players, who by chances fall in the category of has-beens.
“How many times have we hired foreign coaches to handle our national teams, maynangyariba?Puro ngakahihiyanangmgapinag-gagawa,” my neighbor would want to know. “Natatandaanpabaninyonoon when one time a long-time naturalized player natinay nag- shoot sa goal ngkalaban and as a result our team was accused of game-fixing?”
“Nakakahiyangaitongatingginagawangmag- naturalize ng foreign player. We are only exposing how easy it is to acquire Filipino citizenship here as even our sports officials have been accusing us.”
Mang Kiko reemphasized his observation on SBP’s lack of development program as root of the problems befacing the nation’s favorite sport of basketball which I will be discussing in future columns.