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Gilas to drop "Smart" in team-name.

Manny Pangilinan, has been shouldering the expenses of the Philippine National Basketball Team. Let me just say he is not using government money and is in no way obligated to do this. In return the National Team is called SMART Gilas Pilipinas. Since the naming of the team into SMART Gilas (2009?), none of the players from SMC-backed PBA Teams, with the exception of Enrico Villanueva, were ever allowed to play for the National Team. 

So what does MVP do? He is dropping "SMART" from the team-name and won't even have the logo on the jersey. But he will still back the team financially.

Your move, Ramon Ang. 

Read story here.


MVP is a modern day hero. 

Manila to host FIBA Asia Championships - WOW

Wow. I'll probably write better some other time. But for now, let me just bask in happiness.

Read the full story here

As an ultimate fan-boy, this is just pure happiness. Not only can we watch the Gilas players play live and shout our hearts out to support, this also brings a lot of advantages: (familiarity of venue, more players being available, generate more media attention, etc)

Now PBA Board, PBA Players, PBA Team Owners and Team Management, your move.

Let's do this!

See you in the Finals guys!

Filipinos' Insane Love for Basketball

From From PBA-Online.Net

Every Philippine National Team fan would like to hold on to the thought the Philippines once “dominated” Asia by consistently participating in the Olympics from 1936 to the early 70s. We also boast that we placed the highest ranking among Asian teams in a World Championship as we won Bronze in the 1954 Rio de Janiero World Championship.

And if you are a real fan-boy, you would know that way before Wang Zhizhi or Yao Ming or Yuta Tabuse, there was a Filipino playing in the NBA by the name of Raymond Townsend drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1978. (Others would argue that he is more American as he grew up in the States and his father was American. If that’s your argument then most of our players in the National Team are not Filipinos.)

From Facts in the Philippines

But we know the “glory days” are over. We all know what’s been happening lately. We all experience heartbreak-after-heartbreak in every FIBA Asia-sanctioned tournament (with the exception of the recent Jones Cup, but that does not really qualify us for anything) mostly in the hands of a South Korean team.

From ForumsInterbasket.Net

With every heartbreak, fellow Filipinos would be quick to judge every fan and every National Team speaking as if they are the “reality check”. They would say that we should give up Basketball as we have no chance in that sport pointing out genetics and our height limitations. We should focus on billiards or boxing. And in 2011, the “Azkals bandwagon” grew with some “fans” bashing basketball. No disrespect, as a fan, I am happy with our success in other sports, but succeeding in one sport does not translate to forgetting about one sport that we truly love. And although we have not been winning a significant Asian tournament recently, let me point out that we’re always one of the top contenders finishing 4^th in the last two FIBA Asia tournaments.

The thing is, we love basketball. That’s that. We are crazy about it. Almost every Filipino would have an analysis of a basketball game (and sometimes that could be a disadvantage). Rafe Bartholomew wrote a whole book on our passion and love for the game.  I do not know if it’s the offense-orientedness of the sport translating to more action or the team-game-but-with-a-chance-to-showcase-individual-talent-every-time nature of it but we just love the game! And you can’t tell people to hate what they love. Love, after all, could be irrational. So even if physically, we are not as gifted as the other countries, we should not give up on the sport because we love it. It’s what makes us happy. And besides, although length has a lot to do with the sport, there are other facets of the game that we are great at. 

Cover of Pacific Rims by Rafe Bartholomew

Besides, not every Filipino need to be tall for us to win. We only need a handful of tall players to represent us. With the athleticism of the 6’10” Japeth Aguilar, Norman Black’s tutelage of the 7’0” Greg Slaughter, and the honed moves of the 6’10” June Mar Fajardo all in their early 20s, pair that with a Naturalized big man, we have a chance to showcase a tall National team.  Let’s just hope that we would get the breaks and every player needed by the National Team would be available.

From Smart Gilas

I believe going for something we love is worth all the risks and consequences. Bilog ang bola.

Japeth Aguilar : A Fan's Perspective

I’ve been a fan of Japeth Aguilar ever since his Ateneo days. Despite his limited minutes, he showed flashes of brilliance with his inborn athleticism and length. Seeing a 6’7” (I think that was his height that time) 17 year old drive to the basket with such speed was something we Filipinos were not accustomed to. Sky’s the limit for that 17 year old.

From Basketball Exchange

But as I mentioned, only flashes were seen as he was given limited minutes. And it was just right that he got limited minutes. I mean, those were the college dominant days of Larry Fonacier  and  LA Tenorio. I know, they played different positions but the names I mentioned above owned the two Ateneo teams Japeth played for so plays were designed and focused for those players. And in Japeth’s position were older and more experienced players like JC Intal and Doug Kramer. Japeth was going to get his time to shine and be “the man”.

But Japeth had dreams of playing in the NBA, league of the world’s best players, so he transferred to the States and suited up for WKU playing alongside Courtney Lee. We were deprived of seeing Japeth dominate UAAP and instead, we saw Ford Arao transform from a role player to a go-to-guy.

We all know how Japeth’s career in WKU turned out. Japeth was not eligible to play in his first year in the States as he had to serve a one year residency period. In his second year, he was supposed to be part of the rotation but then got injured. And on his last year, who would take time and be patient with an undeveloped senior? If WKU developed him on his senior year, they would not get any long term benefits.

From WKU Sports

So Japeth came back to the Philippines with so much hype. I, for one, was one of the excited fans to see how the athletic Japeth developed. Sure, he may have had limited minutes in WKU but he attended their practices. He was playing against taller, stronger, and more athletic players so he should have developed. He then played for Coach Yeng Guiao’s Powerade National Team and then again saw limited minutes. After all, he was playing with Asi Taulava, Mick Pennisi, Sonny Thoss, and Kerby Raymundo.

From GMA Network

He then became the 2009 PBA first overall pick by Burger King and for sure, Coach Yeng would now give him his minutes. But then a telenovela-ish saga happened where Japeth decided he wanted to play for Smart Gilas instead. I, for one, supported him in his decision. I am, after all, a big fan of any Philippine team who would represent the country. And a part of me thinks that Japeth made that decision still thinking about the NBA. Playing for Smart Gilas would give him more international exposure and experience playing against bigger players from other countries. Then for some reason, he got limited minutes from Coach Rajko Toroman in their last few tournaments. I don’t want to delve into why.

From Carfew

Then he played in the PBA and had a solid year playing for Talk ‘N Text. But there was no way he was going to dominate the minutes and be the man in his rookie year (although he was not technically a rookie since he played one game in 2009 but come on, that was his rookie year) playing with Ali Peek, Kelly Williams, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Harvey Carey in a championship calibre team.

From PBA Images

Then this year, he wanted to pursue his NBA Dream once again so he went back to the States. He said it was “Now or Never” for him. He went to the states and had some private work outs with different NBA teams. Unfortunately, he was not invited to any NBA training camp so he tried his luck in the D-League. He was drafted by the Santa Cruz Warriors and played 2 pre-season games with them. It was crazy. Filipinos were following his every move and every day there would be news about his progress in the D-League. I guess that placed so much pressure on him but it also added publicity to help him make the team.  Unfortunately, just recently he got waived.

As soon as he got cut, bashers were quick to put “hate comments” on him with the “I told you so” comments. That he should be realistic with his dreams and his talents are such a waste because “he does not have Basketball IQ” (these comments from people who I’m sure have so much of it. sarcasm).  And then the typical lines of Filipinos should not love Basketball as we are not meant for it. We do not have the height and skills for it.

And yet, after all that I’m still a fan of Japeth. Why?

-         

•      Because he is a dreamer and does something to get it. Sure, he got a major set back and there is a big possibility he might not reach his dreams anymore, but at least he tried. He won’t have any regrets when he’s old. 20s is the time where you go for what you want and not hold anything back. Sometimes, we need dreamers. Because people who become contented in life easily will remain where they are.
•             Because he showed everyone we are in control of our lives. Japeth has a dream and holds on to that. He does not let anyone else or any external situation dictate his direction in life. If anything, he considers their ideas but he would still go for what he thinks is best for him. With the 2009 saga with Coach Yeng, he was bashed and criticized a whole lot. But he knows what he wants in life and team owners, coaches, fans do not own him. He has a dream and it is his right to go for it.
•            Because he wants to play against the best competition. The reason why he was never “the man” for a team (yet) is he always takes himself out of his comfort zone. Sure, he could have dominated UAAP and became the Star Player for Ateneo but he wanted to play against more athletic and bigger guys to push him-self even more. He could have stayed in the PBA and develop further but he wanted to play against taller guys. Admittedly, this could have cost him. Always moving away, he never got to experience what it feels like to be “the man” and dominate a game. He never got into a situation where a team would rely on him to make plays to make a team win consistently. He was always a role player. And players who go into tough competition, when they are not yet ready, could be costly, especially that players only have a very limited time playing in their careers. Could Japeth have been a better player now if he stayed in Ateneo, or with Coach Yeng, or now with Coach Norman Black? We can only speculate. But it’s not yet too late for Japeth. He is not that old. I just hope someday, he would be given the break to showcase that “Hybrid Forward” skills of his and learn how to dominate.
•          Because Japeth opened doors. Most of Japeth’s critiques say he is not the best player in the Philippines, what makes him think he could make it to the NBA? Well, maybe he is not the best player but he got considerations from different teams in the NBA. He was drafted by a D-League team and almost made it to the final roster. He may not be the best Filipino player but he is the only one who actually tried and went that far. If he is not the best Filipino player and he made it that far, what makes you think other Filipino players who would try wouldn’t make it? Japeth opened doors and I would not be surprised to see more Filipinos try their luck and eventually make it in the future. Or you never know, Japeth could actually make it.

Sure, Japeth may have never been “the man” so far in any of the teams he played for. But with the decisions he made in his life, always going for what he wants and not fearing the consequences, he’s proven that he is a man with balls.