Gilas Pilipinas conquers hearts

About 78 years ago, our national basketball team led by Ambrosio Padilla captured the 5th place in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, so far the best finish by an Asian country.

In the FIBA Basketball World Cup, we earned the distinction of achieving the highest honor among our Asian neighbors when we got the bronze medal in the 1954 tournament held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Our national team also dominated in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games. We won four consecutive championships in the Asian Games in 1951, 1954, 1958 and 1962.

However, after those glorious years, our basketball team faded in and disappeared from the world stage. It was in 1978 when we last participated in the FIBA World Cup. Although held in our own turf in Manila, we finished 8th with a disastrous 0-7 record.

Despite the setback, basketball remains popular in the country. Today, the evolution of basketball transcends even beyond popularity as it is now part of our culture and tradition.

In our streets and neighborhoods, we see men young and old, shirtless or wearing jersey, playing basketball in a covered court or in an open field with one goal hanging in a wooden post. In our fiesta celebrations, a basketball tournament is part of the festivities.

This year, after 36 years, we are back in the FIBA World Cup held in Seville, Spain!

Being a basketball-crazy nation, doubtless,we relish in the opportunity to recapture our place in the world stage. Admittedly, such task is insurmountable, if not impossible, considering the emergence of powerhouses Spain, Argentina, France and the United States.

However, the participation alone of our own Gilas Pilipinas in the World Cup populated by the best in the world from the National Basketball Association and European leagues gives us the chance to get back on track.

Consider this:we are now ranked 34th among the 215 FIBA-recognized national teams. Indeed, such achievement is fit for champions. (Editor's note: Philippines now ranks 19th in the list, subject to change as all results of the ongoing FIBA 2014 get in.)

But we consider Gilas Pilipinas our champions not because we will top this tournament but because we play with our best and pour our hearts out in every game.This gritty attitude will inspire the next generations to play with passion and, who knows, bring us back on top.

Also, the establishment of Gilas Pilipinas sponsored by businessman Manny Pangilinan is an outstanding program. It prepares our players to the brand of play in international competitions. We owe a lot to the man.

In the seven tune-up matches of our national team prior to the current World Cup, we won only a single game, but it was against the 2013 FIBA Africa Silver medalist Egypt.

Yes, we suffered a lopsided loss to Ukraine by 50 points, when Andray Blatche and Paul Lee sat out due to injuries. But overall, those five losses gave us a chance to see ourselves against the very best in the world.

The good thing was we were competitive against the 2013 Euro league champion France, FIBA Africa champion Angola, and the tall Dominican Republic. It was a huge improvement from the past where tall China used to massacre our national team in the Asian games by twenty or more points.

Thus, we should be thankful to the Philippine Basketball Association and our players' mother ball clubs for lending them to our national team. Most of all, we commend our athletes who play with their hearts out in this tournament just to carry the flag, pride and honor of our country.

Recently, as I closely watched the first three games of Gilas Pilipinas against Croatia, Greece and Argentina, I was filled with so much pride as a Filipino when I saw our players play toe to toe against the best in the world.

No doubt, every drive to the basket, dunk, free throw, jump shot, and three-point shot by our players represented the 100 million Filipinos. They brought excitement and honor to our countrymen watching in sari-sari stores and in our homes, here and abroad.

If on March 16, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippine soil, paving the way for Spanish colonization. This year 2014 is our payback time, albeit in basketball. It is time for our Gilas Pilipinas to conquer Spain!

For every endeavor, our nation's battle cry should resonate in our hearts: Laban Pilipinas! Puso!