Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Championships?

At least twelve Asian national basketball teams will be in the country middle of this year for the FIBA-Asia Championships scheduled on August 1 to 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena.  The last time the Philippines hosted this tournament was 40 years ago and it was then called the Asian Basketball Championships.

Our national team that time had Mon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben and Manny Paner alternating at center, Dave Regullano, Big Boy Reynoso, Tembong Melencio, Jimmy Mariano and Bogs Adornado as forwards and Sonny Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Yoyong Martirez and Joy Cleofas in the backcourt.  This group did not disappoint.

The championship game was at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and spectators were already refused entry as it can only accommodate 7,000 people and there were already about 8,000 crammed inside.  They defeated South Korea and their legendary shooter Shin Dong Pa in the finals at the filled-to-the-rafters arena.

Our house was one of the few who had TV sets then and I was about 10 or 11 years old that time.  I remember neighbors and playmates coming over the house to watch the game live on black and white TV.  Live telecasts were a rarity then and there was excitement among the crowd inside the house.  The game was the topic among men and boys for days to come.

It was reported that the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), the precursor to the PBA, was cancelled for six months specifically to prepare for the Asian Championships.  The squad was made up of top players from MICAA's top teams - San Miguel, Crispa, Toyota and YCO.  It was good logic to postpone the league for several months than go with the schedule and suffer losses at the gates without the marquee names.

Fast forward to the present.  There are talks that PBA teams are amenable to loaning a player each for the national team.  Had they done this before, or just followed the example the MICAA had set 40 years ago, we couldn't be as desperate as today as far as good basketball showing is concerned, at least in the Asian scene.

We have better, stronger, quicker and taller talents compared to the Paners, Jaworskis and Adornados of long ago.  I suppose our present crop of ballers are more than willing to play for flag and country but the problem lies with their mother teams.  It's more on the monetary side, the investments teams had made on their star players and they are certainly reluctant of releasing them to the national team for fear of injury.

June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter must and should be in this Gilas team for the FIBA-Asia Championships.  Japeth Aguilar would have been very welcome but his attitude and work ethic is questionable, to put it mildly.  He really has the rare talent for a big man but his ego needs a reality check, maybe a good whack on the side of his whatever to rattle some sense into his head.

If the Philippine Basketball Association and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas agree and get their acts together, maybe, just maybe, we can make it all the way to the Finals.  If not, then we continue to dream bordering on nightmares.

--oo-

I ran into an online article at Spin about former CESAFI player Eliud Poligrates.  Remember him?  I first saw him play sometime 2004 or 2005 for Pilar or was it San Francisco (correct me on this one) of the Camotes Islands group during the Congressional Cup of Red Durano at Danao City.  With his quickness and fancy ball-handling, he really was fun to watch.

If remember right, then coach Alex dela Torre of CIT recruited him to play for the Wildcats but eventually ended playing with the SWU Cobras (again, correct me on this one).  This kid was fond of "panalay", some kind of stuff where you play for small-time leagues for a fee even during the on-going season.  This is a no-no in CESAFI rules than eventually resulted to a lifetime ban imposed on him in 2009.

From there, he hopped from different leagues everywhere, yes, as a pick-up mercenary player and was spotted by coaches Turo Valenzona and Alvin Pua.  Long story short, he now plays for the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns of the PBA's D-League and is their team's 2nd leading scorer.

A big leap for the islander who also dreams of making it in the major leagues where his contemporaries, Fajardo (UC) and Slaughter (UV) are now household names in the national basketball scene.  Good luck, Eloy.

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