Outclassed

It was painful to watch Gilas Pilipinas get outclassed by Italy on Day 1 of the 2019 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup, and as I write this (Monday morning in Foshan, China), I’m not too excited about our prospects against the top-ranked team in FIBA’s Power Rankings on Day 2 — Serbia.

I won’t go into so many nitty-gritty details of the loss to Italy, though. Instead, let me offer my observations as a guy who’s been writing for/working with FIBA since 2014.

This World Cup in China is my third time experiencing a world-level tournament from the ground level after having covered the 2018 3X3 World Championship in Bulacan and seeing the 2018 U17 World Cup in Argentina.

One standout thing I’ve observed so far is this — when two countries battle it out on the court, it’s not just two teams of twelve being pitted against each other. It’s more than that. When two countries collide at this level and on this stage, it’s bigger than the teams.

Opposing fandoms are pitted against each other, too, but perhaps more importantly, differing systems of basketball are also ranged against each other.

Here at the World Cup, for example, every time Team USA plays, it’ll be American, NBA-style of play against, say, Euroball, which has ironically influenced the NBA so much these past few years.

In the game against Italy and very likely in the game against Serbia as well, it was not just about twelve Italians against twelve Filipinos. It wasn’t just coach Meo Sacchetti’s system against coach Yeng Guiao’s system. It was pretty much Euro-style basketball against Philippine-style basketball, and well, we saw the end result.

What does that mean, exactly? Does it mean that the Pinoy style of play has no place on the world stage because of a 46-point beating, which actually surpassed the 37-point loss to the Italians the last time we met them at the World Cup in 1978?

Of course not. Philippine basketball has a place at the World Cup. In our own way, we’re world class — our style of play has something to offer to the world, and our fandom is nearly unparalleled anywhere else. I truly believe that.

But when I say Philippine basketball, it goes beyond coaching systems, play-style, and fandom. When I say Philippine basketball, it’s about the entire ecosystem of basketball in our country, from the grassroots to the youth/amateur level to the professional level. It’s not just one team and its preparations that’s being judged. It’s the development of talent, the coaching/playing philosophies, the accommodation for international exposure/competition, the adjustment of priorities — all these things are being tested for the world to see.

Obviously, against Italy (and very likely against Serbia), Philippine basketball was found wanting.

Is it a wake-up call for us? Maybe, or maybe it’s still too early to say. Maybe we’ll be competitive against Serbia after all, yes? Maybe we’ll beat Angola like we should, yes? And then perhaps we can notch a win or two in the consolation rounds and, who knows, maybe even qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the highest-ranked Asian team here?

It’s all still possible. Success is still possible.

But at the very least, there are still a number of questions that have been opened up by the dreadfully lopsided defeat to the Italians, who are ranked 15th in the aforementioned Power Rankings.

Was coach Yeng given enough preparation time for the World Cup? Ever since FIBA’s announcement in 2014 that the international basketball calendar will have “qualifying windows,” how much has the system of Philippine basketball adjusted? Is it enough?

Obviously, against Italy (and very likely against Serbia), Philippine basketball was found wanting.

How much more are we willing to tweak or even overhaul our system to give our brand of play a stronger chance of success at the world stage?

Is that even our top priority? Or something else?

If we want Philippine basketball to continue improving (because we have improved, to be quite frank), then these are questions (and maybe even harder ones are to follow) we have to answer. This is the context to which we have to adjust.

The world will not adjust to how we do things. It has to be the other way around; otherwise, when facing top-flight Euroball or any other established style of international basketball, Philippine basketball will likely get outclassed at almost every turn.

We’ve already seen it in 3X3, where after landmark initiatives and changes sparked by the SBP and major sponsor Chooks-to-Go, our teams are making waves and climbing the ladder.

I hope to see the same thing in mainstream, 5-on-5 basketball at all levels (men, women, youth, senior), but, of course, that’s much easier said than done given all the intricacies and constraints of the way we do basketball in our country.