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| At the end of the day, we may call him one of the biggest what-ifs in Philippine Basketball. (Photo Credit: Spin.ph) |
The reality of it was, even when Harper was supposed to join the tournament, the guy who we were supposed to be hyping up was just lurking in the shadows. That player is none other than 6'9" forward, Kamaka Hepa.
Kamaka Hepa is a 17 year old Fil-Am who plays for Jefferson High School. But since Hepa hailed from Alaska initially, he didn't receive much attention from the Filipino crowd. There were articles done on him by SLAM and SLAM Philippines, but those articles didn't create much traction for Hepa. So when news of him arriving in the country released, only some fans/analysts were excited for the prospect of seeing Kamaka play against some of the best teams in the country. So how did Kamaka respond to that hype a select few chose to gave him?
27 points on 11/19 shooting, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks against the San Beda Red Cubs, arguably the most decorated High School program in Philippine Basketball. Oh do consider as well, he was going up against Sam Abuhijle, Germy Mahinay and Addie Velasquez, some of the best bigs in the country as well.
Never mind that he put up just 4 points and 8 rebounds in a disappointing loss against the SHS-Ateneo Cebu team. We'll give him a pass for that, considering that he arrived in the country coming from a transatlantic flight at 4am, then had to play a game against San Beda at 9;30 am, then play at a non-airconditioned gym at 3:30. Context matters.
But take some time and ignore the dud that he put up in his second game in the country. Analyze not just the stats that he put up against San Beda, but the other stuff he's been doing in the States. Not only has he been playing very well, but he's also received recognition from teams, getting offers from schools such as Oregon, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas. At the same time, he's ranked 49th NATIONALLY for his batch (2018) courtesy of ESPN, and he's ranked #1 in the state which he resides in.
Impressive right? He's Fil-Am, AND he has all of these accolades. It must be too good to be true!
Well, it is too good to be true, as Kamaka isn't eligible to play for Gilas Pilipinas since he wasn't able to secure a Philippine passport before he turned 16. He turned 17 years old just this January.
Other than this painful fact that he can't play for Gilas, Kamaka's emergence has brought about some of the warts which Philippine Basketball has. For the sake of this piece, we'll be talking about two of them.
Inability to appreciate fundamentals
All of Hepa's statistics and accolades are impressive, but it's important to recognize HOW he was able to get those statistics in the first place. He was able to do so by using a polished skill set, paired with great use of basic fundamentals of basketball.
The reality of it is that Hepa isn't the best athlete out there. He has great mobility, and has shown some strong dunks, but he isn't a monster athlete like a Kobe Paras. But what he has shown is a great understanding for the game, showing some great passes despite his size, and has shown considerable range for a forward. He has decent handles as well, good enough for him to get to the rim with ease. He has a smooth jumper, where he has shown that he can score from the post, off the catch and even from post position.
All of those mentioned above sound very impressive, but when you see him do it on the court, chances are only a select few will be able to appreciate what he's doing. It's methodical, and even to some extent boring, but it's downright effective.
Sadly, there's not much in Philippine Basketball who's shown to have appreciation for things like that.
Us Filipinos have shown to side more with the flair or electricity players show in basketball games. It isn't then surprising that players like Terrence Romeo, Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry are among the most loved for most Pinoy Basketball fans. They're loved not because of the contributions which they give for their team. Instead, the appreciation for these players is centered around the fact that they are entertaining.
Either be a big name player, have a skill set that's entertaining or be an athletic player which provides electricity for a crowd, and you're instantly a hit among most Filipino basketball fans.
But the sad reality of it is how most fans are unable to appreciate the fundamentals. Most kids throw away learning the fundamentals because they're boring. Sure, they're boring. But at the same time, they're extremely effective.
That's what Kamaka has shown in his mixtapes. He's a skilled player, who has a great feel for the game for someone his age. Sadly, that's something most Pinoys can't appreciate.
Why is Kamaka known? He's Fil-Am. He's a sure fire Division 1 player. But aside from that? Nothing else. Not much appreciation for his skill, and how fundamentally sound he is as a player.
And the worst part is how we won't be able to fully utilize these skills of Kamaka. This then brings me to the second wart of Philippine Basketball.
Either be a big name player, have a skill set that's entertaining or be an athletic player which provides electricity for a crowd, and you're instantly a hit among most Filipino basketball fans.
But the sad reality of it is how most fans are unable to appreciate the fundamentals. Most kids throw away learning the fundamentals because they're boring. Sure, they're boring. But at the same time, they're extremely effective.
That's what Kamaka has shown in his mixtapes. He's a skilled player, who has a great feel for the game for someone his age. Sadly, that's something most Pinoys can't appreciate.
Why is Kamaka known? He's Fil-Am. He's a sure fire Division 1 player. But aside from that? Nothing else. Not much appreciation for his skill, and how fundamentally sound he is as a player.
And the worst part is how we won't be able to fully utilize these skills of Kamaka. This then brings me to the second wart of Philippine Basketball.
Inability to establish connections to chase potential Gilas prospects
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| All this is right now is a dream. (Photo Credit: Rappler) |
Imagine a Gilas Pilipinas team that could play prospects such as Chris Newsome, Stanley Pringle, Moala Tautuaa, Chris Ross or even a certain Jordan Clarkson without any hitch. That sounds really awesome right? Sadly, that just remains a dream. Because of FIBA's rules on the eligibility of a player, prospects such as those mentioned above can't represent our country in international tournaments.
Add Kamaka Hepa to that list of could have beens for Gilas Pilipinas.
Most Filipinos point to the eligibility rule which FIBA has in place as the main culprit in this entire issue. There's certainly some merit to that concern of Filipinos, but in the mean time, with barely any traction with this rule being scrapped any time soon, it's time to look for other solutions for the time being.
One possible solution to this issue is to chase potential prospects abroad as early as possible.
In essence, it's a difficult task for the SBP to do this since a player needs to get his PH passport before he turns 16. Rarely do we see players who bloom into potential blue chip prospects that early. From the looks of it, the only basis that we have to determine whether or not a player is a dream Gilas player are as follows:
- He has great physical tools
- Great athleticism
- Is a big name (has a popular figure as a dad/parent, related to someone of power)
Kamaka checks off #1. He has great physical tools, standing at 6'9" with a decent wingspan. He isn't a monster athlete, so we can't say that #2 checks off for him. #3? It isn't a check at all. Before he arrived in the Philippines, Kamaka barely received any recognition from anyone.
So how could we fix this issue?
For one, the SBP has to be willing to exhaust resources to find players. This can be done by creating connections, trying their hardest to search for the best Fil-Foreign players who are playing abroad. There are free resources such as Youtube, trying to search for mixtapes of potential players. Then afterwards, maybe the SBP can try to send coaches and scouts to wherever these kids are located in. It's a heck of an investment to do this. But if you ask me, it's an investment that seems like it's worth it.
Afterwards, they have to determine what the goal is of getting these prospects. The priority shouldn't be to get the kid to live in the Philippines permanently or even to play for whatever college team. The goal should be to get the kid a PH passport so that he's eligible to play for Gilas Pilipinas.
All of this sounds like a pipedream because of the "lack of resources" that our country has, but I don't believe that our country has a particular lack of resources. If colleges can give out extragavant offers to local players to play for their school, then that clearly means that we have resources. It just so happens that we exhaust these resources for the things which don't matter as much. After all, country or school? That's for another conversation all together.
The point is, if we want guys like Kamaka Hepa not to slip off our hands again, we have to do commit ourselves to searching for talent who could potentially contribute to the national cause. That involves being smart with the way that we view talent, and the willingness to take risks by trying to create connections with players abroad.
Sounds crazy and risky right? Well, if we really are the basketball-crazy country which foreigners say that we are, then steps like these which could eventually benefit our basketball program shouldn't be viewed as crazy at all. Para sa bayan.
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