Overseas Filipino ballers

Francis “LeBron” Lopez is going to America to play professionally at 18. Not much hullabaloo this time. Expect the trend of Filipino basketball players playing abroad to continue at an increased rate. There are many factors to consider why this is so, and how it will benefit Philippine basketball in the future. Yes, including – and especially – the PBA.

Being a traveling b a s k e t b a l l p ro has been a story for almost a hundred years. Even before Abe Saperstein founded the Harlem Globetrotters, commercial basketball has been a staple of American sports. The gold medal winning team that the USA sent to the 1936 Olympics was a combination of the two teams that played in the finals of a commercial l e a g u e t h e re . More recently, it’s become a more fluid exchange, with European players coming to America, and American players scattering all over the world.

More recently, this has been the life of many Filipino former collegiate players and second-tier PBA players. Even before the ASEAN Basketball League began, skilled Filipinos were playing basketball in Hong Kong, the Middle East, the US, Indonesia and other places. They are more athletic and more fundamentally sound than the rest of Southeast Asia, and often play as imports. The ABL has at least three Filipinos on each team. You may liken this to the trend of Filipino nurses who were first recruited by the United States after World War II. (They took the places of women who did the work of military men who were deployed to the frontlines.) A second wave took place in the early 1980’s, when Americans realized the tremendous care, empathy and industriousness of Filipinas.

Why has it taken so long for Filipinos to be recruited more frequently, and why has it happened now?

Training. In the 1970’s, President Ferdinand Marcos instructed then-Education Secretary Carlos P. Romulo to study why Filipinos were starting to decline in international sporting contests. They discovered two things: everyone else got better even as Filipinos got complacent. When open basketball happened, the PBA was actually quite insular. At the same time, younger players dreamt to turning pro to earn a stable, outsized salary. But gradually, the style of play evolved, and as Filipinos were influenced more and more by international play, this put them closer to the style of teams and leagues overseas. Secondly, Filipino players simply got bigger. In the 1970’s, pro centers were 6’5”. (Manny Paner played center at 6’2”.) Now, 6’8” is a good size to play the slot, and more hybrid Filipinos reach heights close to seven feet.

More communication. Exchange of information and ideas is more free-flowing now. Mark Caguioa first learned about the PBA through VHS tapes sent to him from the Philippines. Now, everyone has his highlight reels on social media, making it easier for schools in Japan, the US and other places to seek out talent. And next to China and America, is there a more potent basketball fan base than the Philippines.

The only thing that held Filipino players back was incompatibility with many American coaches. Most coaches in the States have paid their dues through the AAU and small colleges. When they look for players, they rarely want to teach them. But since Filipino players are now more polished at a younger age, there is less adjusting on the part of the coach. If you grew up in the American school system, it’s a big plus. And since Filipinos already speak good English, there’s less work to do.

At the end of the day, young Filipino ballers will experience the world, learn much, earn more, and become well-rounded global citizens. Don’t we want that for our children?