Realistic expectations

Gilas Pilipinas is in a bind. The team is in dire need of more practice time in preparation for the FIBA World Basketball Cup. However, in the throes of the ongoing PBA season-opening tournament, they only get to train once a week, which, by any standard, is nowhere near enough. Head coach Chot Reyes is reportedly set to address the PBA board at its first gathering of the year at the end of the month to make his case. Knowing Chot, he does not want the trip to Spain to be just a learning experience. We’re already in the fight, so let’s make a game out of it.

Gilas was in a similar situation prior to the FIBA Asia tournament held in the Philippines, but the team came together strongly in the last few months and pulled off the second-place finish to book a spot in Spain. There are still some questions to be addressed, but the most important part is that the team gets as much time together as possible. At the moment, that seems like a very tough task.

Twenty of the 24 slots for countries that will see action have already been filled. Host Spain is actually qualified even on its own, as one of the top six teams in the 2013 Eurobasket. The other European entries are France, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Serbia. The US qualifies as defending Olympic champion, and is joined by Americas qualifiers Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Oceania is represented by Australia and New Zealand. Asia fields Iran, the Philippines and South Korea, the top three teams in 2013’s FIBA Asia. Four more wild card teams will be invited.

The Philippines will be a newcomer to the tournament after decades of absence. We don’t really know who to prepare for, since we don’t have the final list of teams and the grouping, which may happen as late as days before the tournament itself. So the imperative is to be as prepared as possible. And for the team to be sharp and play fluidly and instinctively, they have to be together more often. Drawing on the NCC experience of the 1980’s, where the players lived together and did nothing but train together, the results were remarkable. To this day, many members of that team still contribute substantially to Philippine basketball.

More practice time will also reveal who can and should be on the team, who has the level of commitment needed, who is physically, emotionally and psychologically capable to competing at that level, and which combination will be a good fit. Health is a major concern. With such a short span of time to prepare, any changes that have to be made must be made soonest, to allow for proper blending of the talent on the team. The obvious question is who we will be sending, and if all the players needed by the coaching staff will be made available for the national cause.

For certain size, outside shooting and defense will be priorities. The improvement of players like Japeth Aguilar – particularly in confidence, are priceless breakthroughs that will benefit Gilas. As Iran and Korea showed, size and speed can come together, so stopping teams like them in transition is critical. If we’re lucky, the stronger teams will be grouped together, and we will have the less-experienced teams in our bracket. But that is asking a lot from our stars. It would be a minor miracle for us to avoid the US, Spain and the other European heavyweights. Better for us to face the teams with raw talent and less finesse and technical advancement, which will allow us to use guile and physicality to throw them off their games.

So much still has to happen on our end and on the other side of the seas for the final picture to fall into place. It is maddening to plan because we really have no clear picture who’s going to play whom. From a personal standpoint, if we win two games, it would be a very satisfying trip, because we’ll have proven that we can wound the Goliaths of the basketball world. Realistically, anything beyond that would be miraculous. But then again, who knows how far the team can really go?

Let’s also remember, though, that this season is a milestone for the PBA. it will be celebrating its 40th season as the first professional basketball league in the region. The actual opening of the first season took place in April of 1975, but the official start of the 40th season is in October. It is a remarkable milestone, and a testament to the league’s stability and growth. The PBA has been a symbol of the ups and downs of the growth of the country itself, and its strength and increasing market awareness serve notice of its professionalism as an organization.

Give the significance of the occasion, the league also wants to have its best foot forward. That means having its teams at their strongest for its primary function, holding competitive, entertaining games at the highest level in the country. That being said, lending players to the national team may also serve the purpose indirectly, but it was not the reason why the league was created. The PBA has of its own volition taken on the responsibility of providing available talent and expertise to the national team, but it is also paying a price, which we must not disregard. The question for this season is which way it will decide to tip the balance. Remember that when Alaska took on the task of handling the Philippine team for the Asian Games, it paid the price of losing a potential second Grand Slam.

We have arrived at a golden opportunity to make a dent in the basketball universe, to have enough ammunition in our arsenal to bring down some of the sport’s giants and write a new chapter in our favorite sport’s history. But can we really ask more of the PBA, which has already given so much? What more is the PBA willing to give, considering that it is, at the end of the day, a business which may be impacted – positively or negatively – by whatever happens at the FIBA World Cup. Nobody else is taking that tremendous risk. It’s easy to say the PBA should do it. But how do you ask for more from those who have already given so much? It’s a tough task, to say the least.

**** Dr. Michael Hall, founder of Neuro-Semantics and MetaCoaching, will be in the Philippines for the first time to hold a two-day workshop on Jan. 21-22. He will also hold a leadership dinner on Jan. 21 for those who may not be able to attend his workshop. Several renowned Filipino leaders from various fields have already confirmed their attendance. Hall will elaborate on Neuro-Semantics and MetaCoaching and how it may impact your company or organization. Interested parties may contact +63920-9502863 or brkthru.consulting@gmail.com.