Providential finish for Gilas

There were many fateful things that happened along the way in Gilas’ long, hard road to a silver finish at the recent FIBA-Asia Championships. Things happen for a reason, it is said, and in Gilas’ case, it was like Somebody Up There had a hand in guiding the Philippine team back to the FIBA World Cup after a wait that started in 1978.

A series of events took place that were beyond Gilas’ control. Was the roadmap to Spain made in heaven? It wasn’t just one thing that led to enhancing Gilas’ chances to book a podium finish. It was several things. Surely, the power of prayer had a lot to do with that. The entire Filipino nation was one in imploring God’s intervention to give Gilas the strength to overcome. The entire Filipino nation’s faith was resounding and unflinching. In the end, the prayers were answered. God listened and Gilas’ campaign ended with a silver lining.

The first hint of a providential ending came when FIBA-Asia secretary-general Hagop Khajirian announced Beirut’s withdrawal to host the tournament because of civil unrest in the Lebanese capital last December. Beirut had beaten Manila in a vote to host the 27th edition of the competition during the FIBA-Asia Executive Board meeting in Tokyo last September. Although Manila had clearly the superior proposal, the Board awarded the hosting rights to Beirut apparently because of a previous understanding. Two years ago, Beirut was supposed to host the championships but withdrew at the last minute because of internal peace and order issues, paving the way for Wuhan to stage the event. The understanding was Beirut would be the preferred host in 2013.

Over the Christmas and New Year holidays, the SBP feverishly worked on a proposal to convince Khajirian that Manila would be ready to take over from Beirut. Finally, Khajirian gave his stamp of approval. Manila was awarded the hosting rights for the first time in 40 years.

The second hint came during the draw at the Manila Hotel last June. In the previous tournament, the top four seeds were distributed to head the four brackets. But this year, Khajirian said it would be an “open” draw, meaning no predetermined seedings. In a twist of fate and a stroke of luck for Gilas, powerhouses Iran, China and South Korea were drawn into the same group. Nobody saw that coming and Gilas coach Chot Reyes welcomed it as a positive sign. Reyes picked 13th in the draw and chose to join Group A with Saudi Arabia, Chinese-Taipei and Jordan. His idea was to finish first out of Groups A-B and face No. 4 in Groups C-D in the knockout quarterfinals, avoiding Iran, China and South Korea – tipped to wind up among the top three – in a do-or-die situation before the semifinals.

The third hint was Gilas organizing a training camp in New Zealand with Taiwan’s withdrawal of its invitation for the Philippines to play at the Jones Cup in Taipei last July. The New Zealand camp wouldn’t have been in Gilas’ itinerary if the Jones Cup invitation wasn’t withdrawn. As it turned out, Gilas had an excellent camp in New Zealand and found a new ally in former New Zealand and Jordan national coach Tab Baldwin, an American who is a naturalized Kiwi. Baldwin took Jordan to the finals of the FIBA-Asia Championships two years ago and has an extensive international background with two World Cup appearances and an Olympic outing in his impressive resume. Baldwin joined Gilas as a consultant and became an integral part of Reyes’ coaching staff in Manila.

The fourth hint came when Lebanon was disqualified. Lebanon was in Group B and would’ve faced the Philippines in the second round of eliminations. Without Lebanon, Gilas was spared from playing against a team with 7-2 NBA veteran Loren Woods and the indefatigable star Fadi El Khatib. If Lebanon played, the team would’ve surely made it to the quarterfinals, disrupting the order of pairings in the knockout phase.

The fifth hint was the early wake-up call in Gilas’ first game against Saudi Arabia where the host team came from behind to win, 78-66. That toughened Gilas for its 77-71 win over Jordan. The loss to Chinese-Taipei was another wake-up call and it triggered a furious run where Gilas beat Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and South Korea in succession. The five-game winning streak guaranteed a silver medal for Gilas and a ticket to Spain.

The sixth hint was Qatar’s 71-68 upset over Chinese-Taipei. That created a triple tie for first in Groups A-B and with a superior quotient, the Philippines clinched the No. 1 spot to arrange a quarterfinal showdown with the No. 4 Groups C-D qualifier Kazakhstan. It also meant the Philippines wouldn’t face Iran until the finals. The No. 1 spot also lined up the Philippines to battle the winner of the South Korea-Qatar game in the semifinals. If Chinese-Taipei beat Qatar instead, the Philippines would’ve ended up second out of Groups A-B and played China in the quarterfinals.

The seventh hint was Chinese-Taipei’s 96-78 win over China in the quarterfinals. That meant Gilas wouldn’t play China at all in the tournament. If Gilas finished No. 2 out of Groups A-B, the Philippines and China would’ve squared off in the quarterfinals. China’s surprise exit avoided an injured Marcus Douthit engaging Yi Jianlian in a mano-a-mano duel.

Lastly, the eighth hint was the mad rush for tickets in every Gilas game at the Mall of Asia Arena. That was an indication of the tremendous hometown support for the national team. SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy and Arena general manager Ed Tejerero beamed with pride as FIBA-Asia officials lauded the facility as one of the best ever to stage the event. Tickets were sold out all the way to the finals. The homecrowd proved to be Gilas’ valuable sixth man.

The Philippines wouldn’t have done it without the guidance of the Man Upstairs.