Late yesterday, I postponed attending Mass for tomorrow so I could watch on live TV the third place playoff game between our very own Gilas Pilipinas and China for the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup bronze medal. Just as I expected, it turned out to be a nerve-wracking match as Gilas barely escaped with an 80-79 victory, courtesy of three free throws by Paul Dalistan "Angas ng Tondo" Lee with no time remaining. Living up to his monicker, the Rain or Shine guard calmly sank all charities given to him after he was fouled while shooting a three-pointer from downtown left. The win capped an outstanding tournament for Lee, who is arguably the best Gilas player of the tournament won by powerhouse Iran, Gilas' tormentor in the semifinals. (Iran defeated Chinese Taipei, who Gilas ironically defeated 78-64 in the group stages, to the tune of 89-79 to win their all-time tournament-best second-ever title.)
After several minutes of labor in giving birth to a first-ever podium finish in the tournament for the Philippines, Lee's late-game heroics resulted in a bronze medal, the country's highest-ever finish in the FIBA Asia Cup tournament to date. It thus continued a remarkable trend where the country has steadily improved in ranking with each passing tournament it participates in. With his exceptional overall display and the way he carried the team on his shoulders, Lee can now make a case for inclusion into the main Gilas lineup, a distinction he rightfully deserves. Who would've ever thought his talents are of international grade? As it turned out, Coach Chot Reyes made an absolutely right decision to include Lee in the FIBA Asia Cup final lineup as Lee turned the tournament itself into a virtual audition for him to be included in the final World Cup roster. Looks like a Filipino international basketball star is born!
The only question is who will be bumped off the 12-man roster for the World Cup. Will it be June Mar Fajardo, whose lack of quickness and aggressiveness and being extremely slow-footed and foul-prone has made him a huge liability as an international player? Or Gary David, whose shooting woes have consistently hounded him since last year's FIBA Asia Championship? Or will it be Jimmy Alapag, who has made vocal his intention to retire from international play as early as last year after the same tournament? We'll soon find out, although I'm hoping and praying for Coach Chot to make the absolute right decision in the end.
While I am joyous at Gilas' latest triumph, I am also a bit saddened by the fact that Gilas could've won the gold medal outright. This considering the fact that China had beaten Iran, 64-51, in the group stages. Had Gilas managed to properly fix their set plays on both ends of the court from the get-go during the game against Iran, they would've avoided that 55-76 shellacking and scored probably the biggest upset of the tournament. Their loss is still understandable, though, as they were not a full-strength team with only half of the original 2013 Gilas players seeing action in the tournament.
What saddened me even more than Gilas' loss to Iran though was the fact that the former's detractors in news sites like Yahoo! would stop at nothing to bring our beloved national team down. Just read their nasty comments, and you would get the idea that they are among those who suffer from the worst-ever known cases of crab mentality. The sheer vileness of their comments simply defies belief. If only they could read this, I would tell them that if I could have my way, I would make a case for them to be stripped of their Filipino citizenships and deported out of the country. Their acts are almost tantamount to treason, showing that they seriously have the makings of a quisling when, God forbid, a foreign country invades the Philippines. Lastly, I would tell them that if they don't like Gilas, the least they could do is to not watch their games or read news articles about them and refrain from making destructive criticisms against them or any other honorable person for that matter. They should hang their heads in shame, for people like them are among those who make this great country sick.
Win or lose, we Filipinos have every reason to be proud of Gilas as most of our Asian neighbors could only dream of having a world-class basketball team like ours. Even the fact that many of our players are being taken in as professional league imports by our neighbors is already an accomplishment worth boasting of.
To our brothers from the Middle East, who have been the yardstick for Asian basketball for the past 7-9 years now, congratulations for another gold-medal finish. And to Paul Lee and the rest of Gilas, hold your heads up high. We will
keep on supporting you come hell or high water, for you are the pride of
the Filipino nation. Laban Pilipinas! Puso!
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