Let’s face it.
The bad news could be that Gilas could be eliminated in the group preliminaries of the FIBA World Championships 2023 which we are co-hosting with Indonesia and Japan.
The good news could be that Gilas could upset one or two teams who might be playing with over-confidence.
It’s a possibility and it is not remote.
The Philippines is ranked 40th in the latest FIBA rankings released April 30, 2023. But upsets do happen because the ball is round. In our Pinoy lingo, “bilog ang bola.”
Do you still wonder why we continue to put all of our marbles in this sport even when the stark reality is that the Pinoy will take forever before it even approximates the achievements of what others before us have achieved?
Through the years, Filipinos have gone gaga over the dribble and drive game that we consider ourselves unmatched armchair “experts.”
(Today, we have other disciplines where the Pinoy is harvesting gold in the Asian sphere. Weghtlifitng has produced the country;s first elusive Olympic gold medal while gymnastics and polevault in athletics may not be too far behind.)
No one even among the SBP honchos can tell us with proud determination that we can achieve what Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Australia – and China for that matter – have attained.
Since Xi Jin Ping’s boys entered the Asian circuit, it ended our dreams of playing the Olympics without letup.
(The Chinese (and the SoKors, the Lebanese, the Iranians, New Zeland and Australia) have also made it difficult for the Pinoys to ascend anew the Asian throne.)
I don’t even have to mention the US because the world of basketball is theirs to own.
But one good salient unassailable thing about the FIBA hosting is that, while we are spending millions to ensure its success, the tournament will bring in a good number – in the thousands, I would suppose – of foreign visitors to our country.
However, there is just one major kink I would like to clear up: Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Klay Thompson, Jason Tatum and other NBA superstars who are apples of Pinoy eyes I heard are not members of the American team that will play here in Manila.
Basketball fanatics from Europe and elsewhere usually fly to the competition venues to watch their favorite cagers, aside from the fact that they will enjoy many tourist attractions, the beaches especially.
Its really a pity because the Department of Tourismn should be all agog in their expectations of hordes of foreign visitors coming in because of the prestige and prominence the FIBA WC is extensively known for.
This is the consolation we Pinoy will get as many local entrepreneurs will economically benefit when the foreign visitors dip inside their pockets to pay for their purchases.
Given the fact that Pinoys are noted for their organizational expertise and acumen, foreign delegations are already assured of a warm welcome and the most gracious hospitality they will only get here in the Philippines.
ONLY IN DA PILIPINS! (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com).GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
