MANILA, Philippines - At the dawn of the open era, the Philippines assembled the first-ever all-pro national basketball team that carved out what looked like an ordinary feat that remains unsurpassed to this day.
No Philippine quintet has done better since coach Robert Jaworski, who would become a senator of the republic, steered a crew of PBA superstars to a second-place finish behind host China in the 1990 Asian Games.
At first, the silver medal came like a regular Asian feat – a second best. But through the years, it literally grew in significance as it remained unmatched in the quadrennial conclave where the country reigned supreme in the 50s and 60s.
Indeed, Jaworski and his team made up of Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Ronnie Magsanoc, Benjie Paras, Chito Loyzaga, Yves Dignadice, Rey Cuenco, Dante Gonzalgo and Zaldy Realubit did the best they could against the tall odds.
Imagine a team hastily assembled and with just a two-week training outperforming the Koreans, the Japanese, the Iranians and others to finish second behind the Chinese, who by then had evolved into formidable opponents thanks to their continued training and numerous stints abroad.
Twenty-one years later, Jaworski and his troops have become more convinced they have every reason to be proud of their achievement.
The closest the country came to matching the 1990 silver-medal finish came in Busan in 2002. Olsen Racela blew a chance to put a lock on sure silver on two missed free throws, and Korean assassin Lee Sang-min drove a dagger through the Filipinos’ heart with a triple at the buzzer.
“I do remember sharp criticisms first (for finishing second), and it’s heartening that people later on realized we had a worthy performance,” said Caidic, playing then with a fractured shooting hand.
“It helped that the team then had players fresh from the amateurs with experiences of playing international ball. They’re used to it,” said Loyzaga.
“There’s also the luck of the draw and other good breaks,” said Lim, mentioning Japan’s upset of Korea in the quarterfinals sending the Koreans to a semifinals game with the Chinese.
The Philippines repeated its group game win over Japan, scoring a 94-90 decision while China drubbed Korea, 92-88, to arrange their finals encounter.
And the gold medal that was deemed unreachable was suddenly within grasp.
But the Chinese won’t let that happen, crushing the Filipinos, 90-74.
The consolation was the team’s vast improvement from the 65-point massacre it suffered when the two teams met earlier in the quarterfinals.
Jaworski is convinced they could have performed better had they been given more time to be together.