Can’t stop talking

LOS ANGELES — We can’t stop talking about the PBA and the NBA. The following comments were posted by fans on www.jannelleso.com:

I remember the time when I first got hooked on basketball. I was about seven years old. Every week I asked my mom to buy me Sports Weekly Magazine and somehow got thrilled over the PBA and basketball in general.

Circa 1982. News was Marcos was dead-set cause Manila was hosting the Asian Youth Championship. We were dethroned by China about the mid 70s...during the birth of the PBA. So with an American coach named Ron Jacobs, he and godfather Cojuangco molded an amateur team composed of Hec Calma, the late Alfie Almario and Ted Alfarero, Leo Austria, Louie Brill et al. No one expected us to beat the high vaunted Chinese team led by Wang Libin. But we did — organized basketball at its finest; sound fundamentals; superb outside shooting; ball control; time management. You name it.

Fast forward to today. The PBA and the NBA are almost like twin brothers. Puro one on one — individual skills; showtime. High school students are going straight to the pros. Everyone’s busy with being "DA GAMEBOY" and sell shoes and burgers. No more strict fundamental routine. Even today’s stars got their butts kicked during the three-point shootout in Cebu.

We Filipinos are copy cats. Lakas talaga ng colonial mentality natin. Kopya ng kopya parang pirated CD. Kahit sa ASAP we always try to sound like foreigners. Walang originality kung baga.

Back to basics guys. Let’s watch the European championships rather than the NBA season. Mas honed ang skills nila, more fundamentally sound. Kahit nga basic pick and roll was very effective sa Utah Jazz duo. They’ve been doing that for years and it’s still so effective.

The US got their butts kicked and we knew it will come ever since Lithuania gave them the scare four years ago...and Argentina beat the pro team in the World Championship. I guess you can’t stay on top all the time. Di ako na shock sa loss ng US laban sa Puerto Rico — wrote Julius del Rosario from San Diego.

We can’t stop talking about the US Dream Team. The US Men’s Basketball Team — the team that lost twice in 68 years has now lost twice in two weeks. As of press time, the latest defeat came from Lithuania.

The dream team is more like "creamed" team; another example of the total being less than the sum of the individual parts. This is what happens when people play for themselves and for money instead of for pride and for country.

Basketball and Life . . . they’re not that far from each other — wrote Quiel Delgado, general manager of MCI, Philippines.

We can’t stop talking about hoops. Filipinos passion for basketball is evident in their comments. Everyone has something to say.

As usual I read your column today (August 17, 2004), I guess there will always be debate about recruiting Fil-aliens to the pro league but my only observation is that why all the fuss over basketball?

You mentioned about getting players from the provinces. I guess that’s right. We do have talented players from the provinces; but do not forget that Fil-aliens are still Filipinos and they do have as much rights compared to locally-born and bred talents, as long as they are legit.

Always remember that even if we do not have as much advantage, resource-wise, we are not really far behind. Maybe it’s just that we do not rely so much on our potential. Like food and food supplements are also available here. But how many of us know how to use them? Diet-wise we have the Food & Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI); but who among us know it exists? We like to regulate the recruitment of Fil-aliens in basketball but what difference does it make since we also send coaches and players abroad for transfer of technology?

We also do have good courts here. It’s just that talent in basketball is very saturated. Bakit kasi basketball lang ang iniintindi? In swimming we have Fil-ams, but not much noise have been made. Remember that Akiko Thomson does not have Pinoy blood. Not that I’m taking anything away from her. Recently on the papers, the PASA (Philippine Amateur Swimming Association) is tying to recruit another Fil-am swimmer who has already won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke. Not to mention that we only have ONE locally based and trained swimmer in the team.

Siguro it’s time that we evaluate our priorities, fairness should span the whole sporting world. Masyado lang tayo loyal sa basketball di naman tayo umasenso na — from Ramon Jose, fitness instructor, Manila.

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