Dear Filipinos,
Our country has been dominating the competition in the SEA Games and the SEABA for quite some time now. Us Filipinos and our Southeast Asian neighbors pretty much know that whenever we have these competitions, it's practically a given that the Philippines will end up with nothing less than a gold medal.
A silver medal is considered a disappointment.
Heck, a win not more than 15 points can be considered a disappointment.
Pinoys expect nothing but excellence and dominance from our national team every time we face our Southeast Asian neighbors.
It's pretty much the standard already, and Pinoys expect that the standard doesn't change. DOMINANCE. DOMINANCE IS A MUST.
But, as the popular saying goes, the only constant thing in life is change.
Filipinos learned that the hard way on June 14, 2015.
In no way am I saying that Gilas has excuses for this performance of theirs. In fact, this should motivate Gilas to work even harder when it comes to their craft, because this game showed that their Southeast Asian rivals are slowly catching up. What I'm simply saying is that, we have to understand these reasons as to why the Philippine team performed this way. There is a reason for everything after all. We just have to understand those reasons. This tweet by @baleleng__ pretty much summed it up (couldn't post the embed version of the tweet so yung quote na lang):
MAGPASALAMAT NAMAN KAYO.
WAG NA KAYO MANGLAIT NG KAPWA PILIPINO NATIN.
I'm not asking for you to give these guys lavish gifts or a bottle of Coke or ice tubig after this win. All I'm asking is for you to respect the effort our fellow Pinoys are giving for the sake of our country. Kasi sa huli, yan lamang ang maihihingi ng ating mga atleta. Respeto sa kanilang ginagawa.
Wag na tayo magmarunong pa. Tayo ba ang naglalaro? Nararamdaman ba natin ang nararamdaman ng ating mga atleta? Hindi. Sila lamang ang nakakaramdam nun, sumatotal, sila ang naglalaro mismo diba?
Wag na rin tayo maging masyadong demanding. Winning tradition, dapat dominant BLAH BLAH BLAH SHUT UP. Siguro naman alam yan ng Gilas diba? Aayos din sila. Itong karanasan na ito, sigurado akong mas lalo itong makatutulong sa ating programa.
Kaya wag na tayo mag away at manglait, kasi wala 'yang maitutulong sa ating bansa. Kesa na sayangin ang ating lakas sa pag aaway, ibigay na lang natin ito sa pagsuporta at sa pag sama sama bilang isang bayan, para sa ating mga atleta.
Diba nga? PARA. SA. BAYAN. LABAN PILIPINAS. PUSO.
Sana naman 'di lang nasa isip at salita, nasa gawa rin.
Para sa bayan.
Our country has been dominating the competition in the SEA Games and the SEABA for quite some time now. Us Filipinos and our Southeast Asian neighbors pretty much know that whenever we have these competitions, it's practically a given that the Philippines will end up with nothing less than a gold medal.
A silver medal is considered a disappointment.
Heck, a win not more than 15 points can be considered a disappointment.
Pinoys expect nothing but excellence and dominance from our national team every time we face our Southeast Asian neighbors.
It's pretty much the standard already, and Pinoys expect that the standard doesn't change. DOMINANCE. DOMINANCE IS A MUST.
But, as the popular saying goes, the only constant thing in life is change.
Filipinos learned that the hard way on June 14, 2015.
 |
| The Gilas Cadets survived Thailand 80 - 75 in the semifinals of the SEA Games. (Photo Credit: Karl Decena, Interaksyon) |
A Shocking Revelation
The Philippines can be beaten in Southeast Asian basketball.
The Philippines can be beaten in Southeast Asian basketball.
THE PHILIPPINES CAN BE BEATEN IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN BASKETBALL?
Getting tired of hearing it? Aba, uulit ulitin ko yan hanggang matanggap niyo yan.
THE PHILIPPINES CAN BE BEATEN IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN BASKETBALL.
That's something Thailand made us realize yesterday in our semifinal match against them in the SEA Games staged in Singapore.
Fans expected our amateur laden squad to roll past Thailand in that game. After all, that has been the case for the past few years now, with our past Sinag squads being led by guys like Kiefer Ravena, Mac Belo amongst others. However, that wasn't the case for this game.
The game was neck and neck from start to finish, with Thailand erecting a lead as big as 12 points in the second canto. It was intense. It was scary. But in the end, the Gilas Cadets stood as winners.
Usually in games like those, we Pinoys breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate. That wasn't the case this time, as the hate on the cadets piled up.
"OVERRATED!"
"YUNG MGA NAGCCELEBRATE DIYAN ANG BABABABAW NIYO!"
"CHAMBA NG PANALO MAGPASALAMAT KAYO NANALO PA!"
"MGA WALANG KWENTA!"
"MGA WALANG KWENTA!"
And many more.
Now, let me present to you some points you should take into account when it comes to ANALYZING this win by the Cadets:
- Gilas CADETS. These are amateur players who are playing against grown men. Sure in terms of skill we are far superior against them, but skill isn't the only thing one should consider when it comes to basketball. There's also strength, experience and smarts amongst others. These cadets haven't even been exposed to the best (this may be arguable but go with it) basketball the country has to offer.
- Thailand had ABL VETERANS. For your information, the ABL is not the Ateneo Basketball League. The ABL is the ASIAN Basketball League, home to some of the very best professional players in the Southeast Asian region. These are guys who are used to the grind of a professional basketball player. Plus, they are veterans, so this means the grind of being a professional basketball player? They're pretty used to it already. This means the experience that these Thai ABL Vets trumps that of the Amateur Stars of the Gilas Cadets (save for Marcus Douthit).
- Despite that, Gilas stayed composed. Being a veteran usually means that you know what to do when it comes to game time situations. Being an amateur usually means that it's pretty acceptable if you make mistakes in the clutch. Gilas wasn't having any of that. After all the errors Gilas was making in the earlier quarters, they were finally able to execute their plays down the stretch. All of that was punctuated by a DAGGER of a three by The Phenom, Kiefer Ravena. So much for being amateurs huh.
- The zone defense played by the Thais. Let's face it, this Gilas team isn't built to stretch the floor. They don't have a CONSISTENT knockdown shooter like a Larry Fonacier or a Jeff Chan. Most of the team's players are creators off the dribble who slash to get buckets. That doesn't bode well against a zone defense. Those threes by Vosotros saved Gilas. Those threes were pretty much zone breakers. The zone, the lack of floor stretchers, plus the fact that these Thais were crazy physical? Recipe for disaster for the Philippines.
- The Thais were more prepared. Just so you know. Thailand did not play in the SEABA Men's Competition this past April. This means they weren't scouted as well as other teams who participated in the tourney. At the same time, this means that the Pinoys were better scouted. Kaya talagang maccheck ang Gilas.
Yet, despite all of that, Gilas still found a way to eke out the win against Thailand.
Parang yung mga mama sa kanto hinamon ang mga HS varsity sa basketball. Ayun, talo ang mga mama. Philippines - Thailand game.And to add, this clincher of a quote from Coach Tab Baldwin himself:
They were down. For young kids, they could have easily have succumbed to that and play like young kids under pressure. But in this game, they played like veterans.In the end, the point of this whole letter is this;
MAGPASALAMAT NAMAN KAYO.
WAG NA KAYO MANGLAIT NG KAPWA PILIPINO NATIN.
I'm not asking for you to give these guys lavish gifts or a bottle of Coke or ice tubig after this win. All I'm asking is for you to respect the effort our fellow Pinoys are giving for the sake of our country. Kasi sa huli, yan lamang ang maihihingi ng ating mga atleta. Respeto sa kanilang ginagawa.
Wag na tayo magmarunong pa. Tayo ba ang naglalaro? Nararamdaman ba natin ang nararamdaman ng ating mga atleta? Hindi. Sila lamang ang nakakaramdam nun, sumatotal, sila ang naglalaro mismo diba?
Wag na rin tayo maging masyadong demanding. Winning tradition, dapat dominant BLAH BLAH BLAH SHUT UP. Siguro naman alam yan ng Gilas diba? Aayos din sila. Itong karanasan na ito, sigurado akong mas lalo itong makatutulong sa ating programa.
Kaya wag na tayo mag away at manglait, kasi wala 'yang maitutulong sa ating bansa. Kesa na sayangin ang ating lakas sa pag aaway, ibigay na lang natin ito sa pagsuporta at sa pag sama sama bilang isang bayan, para sa ating mga atleta.
Diba nga? PARA. SA. BAYAN. LABAN PILIPINAS. PUSO.
Sana naman 'di lang nasa isip at salita, nasa gawa rin.
Para sa bayan.
May 1 point pa - almost all the calls were against us.
ReplyDeleteGilas cadet are just not yet ready for physical play of Thailand. But its a good test for them since there are young and inexperience in the international scene.
ReplyDeleteMost of us are just frustrated with how the players were selected. Comparing with the all-star line-up during FIBA, the Gilas cadets are really newbies, inexperienced... cadets. Why not assemble a more balanced team, let say, 50% amateurs and 50% experienced. In that way, the old ones will reinforce the cadets while the cadets will bring new techniques and fresh play to the team.
ReplyDelete