Luck of the draw

BARCELONA – The team that hit the jackpot at the FIBA World Cup draw here last Monday (yesterday morning, Manila) was Finland, a wildcard entry.  Gilas coach Chot Reyes said he would’ve been overjoyed if only the Philippines was drawn to join Group C instead of Finland.  But that’s the luck of the draw.

Finnish Basketball Association president Antti Zitting, a 6-10 former player, said Finland was fortunate to nail a wildcard slot after Russia’s bid was turned down because of infighting within the national federation and two other European powers Germany and Italy backed out at the last minute.  It was as if Finland got the nod by default.

The FIBA Central Board chose the four wildcard entries at a meeting here last Saturday.  There were 15 candidates, including China and Qatar from Asia.  It was rumored that China, like Germany and Italy, withdrew before the final reckoning.  The lucky four were Finland, Greece, Brazil and Turkey.  Greece made it because of its rich basketball background and high FIBA ranking No. 5.  Turkey was the host of the previous World Cup where it finished second to the US. Turkey is ranked No. 7 by FIBA. Another compelling reason for Turkey’s selection is the World Cup’s major presentor Beko is a Turkish appliance and consumer electronics company.  Brazil is ranked No. 10 and will host the Olympics in 2016 so it was logical for FIBA to award the country a ticket, too.

Finland was a surprise entry.  Zitting said ice hockey is by far Finland’s most popular sport with soccer next in the ladder and basketball a poor third.  But national interest in basketball got a major boost when Finland made waves at the FIBA Eurobasket Championships in Slovenia last year.  Finland opened the competitions with a 4-1 record, beating Turkey, 61-55, Sweden, 81-60, Russia, 86-83 in double overtime and Greece, 86-77 while losing to Italy, 62-44. In the next round, Finland dropped out of contention after losing to Croatia, 88-63 and Spain, 82-56 but finished on a high note, repulsing Slovenia, 92-76.   It helped that Finnish mobile gaming giant Rovio has promised to pour in advertising money for the World Cup.

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“When it was announced that Finland was awarded a wildcard ticket, there was celebration all over the country,” said Zitting.   The Finnish executive took a flight out of Helsinki the day after the wildcards were named to attend the draw here.  He was accompanied by head coach Henrik Dettmann and two others.  Dettmann, 55, used to coach the German national squad and is on his second stint with the Finnish team, first in 1995-96 then from 2004 up to today.

Finland was drawn to play in Group C in Bilbao with the US, New Zealand, Ukraine, Dominican Republic and Turkey.  â€œWe’re excited to play the US,” said Zitting.  â€œIt’s a dream come true for any player.  Our first game is against the US and you can just imagine the global mileage we will gain.  If we lose, it’s better to lose to the best.  We’ve beaten Turkey and we have a good chance against the other teams so we’re looking forward to a very positive outcome.  We made it as a wildcard and now, we’re in a bracket where we can advance to the next round.”

Zitting said the Philippines is well-known in Finland because of 1952 Miss Universe Armi Kuusela who married Filipino Virgilio Hilario and American player Larry Pounds who played two conferences as a PBA import.  â€œEvery Finn knows about Armi’s Cinderella story and how Gil (Hilario) swept her off her feet,” said Zitting.  â€œArmi is close to every Finn’s heart.  Larry settled in a city called Kotka after playing in the Philippines and married a Finnish girl named Maj.  They have three children, a son (Michael) and two daughters (Dionne and Anissa).  His son played for the Finnish junior team and his daughter is now with the Finnish women’s team.”

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Pounds, 60, played at the University of Washington then saw action with NBA veteran Otto Moore to power Royal Tru Orange to a PBA title in 1979.  He returned to the PBA with Nicholas Stoodley for a conference in 1980.  Pounds became a naturalized Finnish citizen in 1987 and retired as an active player in 1994.

Kuusela, now 79, was the first Miss Universe in 1952. She relinquished her crown less than a year of her reign to marry Hilario.  They were blessed with five children, the youngest of whom Mikko lives in Manila.  Hilario died of a heart attack in 1975 and Kuusela remarried American diplomat Albert Williams three years later.  Today, she is involved in charity work and lives in San Diego.

The Finnish national team’s senior statesman is 36-year-old Hanno Mottola who played for the Atlanta Hawks.  While the squad has no naturalized player, Zitting said the roster lists Finn-American 6-10 Gerald Lee of Old Dominion.  Lee’s father Gerald, Sr. is married to a Finn. Two other Finn-Americans who may play at the World Cup are NBA veteran Jay Murphy’s sons Erik and Alex.  Muprhy is married to a Finn named Paivi.  Erik is a reserve with the Chicago Bulls while Alex plays at Duke University.

Reyes said even as he would’ve liked Gilas to play in Group C, he’s happy for Finland.  â€œJust to make it to the World Cup is an achievement and we’re finally back after 36 years,” he said.  â€œWe’ll definitely relish the experience.  We’re going out there to win and we’ve got the best sixth man, our fans, backing us up.”