You've read it right. Gilas Pilipinas has sadly bowed out of contention for the knockout stage after losing yet another heartbreaker of a game to Puerto Rico after leading in the first two quarters. No matter what the result of their game tomorrow against Senegal and all the remaining Group B games will be, the Philippines will still have no more chance of advancing as two wins are needed to do so. LA Tenorio's breakout game of the tournament (18 points, which is more than his total score during the first three games combined) thus went for naught. Had Gilas won, he would've probably won the best player of the game award.
On my own analysis, I saw that Gilas already has what it takes to compete with their opponents at the world stage. Their only weakness is they don't have yet the character, the experience and perhaps the physical and mental conditioning to win games. In short, inconsistency became their own worst enemy. This is one thing they definitely have to work real hard on if they want to recapture for the country a fifth Asian Games gold medal, which we last won in 1962 during the Carlos Loyzaga era. Two lessons should be learned here by Gilas: One, play consistently and aggressively at your very best all game long, for there is no such thing as a safe lead in international basketball. Second, straight from the legendary Muhammad Ali, "Don't ever quit. Suffer now and be a
champion for life." Simply put, play every game as if it were your last.
As much as I would like to blame the Gilas players and the coaching staff for the debacle that is the 2014 FIBA World Cup, it dawned on me however that in this competition, two teams had to go from each group at the end of the group stage. Unfortunately, one of them had to be the Philippines. And a 36-year absence from the world stage can really undo even the best team in the world.
As for Jimmy Alapag, Gary David and perhaps Marc Pingris, this could very well be the end of the line for them as far as their international careers are concerned. By the time the next FIBA World Cup in 2019 (hopefully to be successfully hosted by the Philippines like the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship!) commences, most if not all of them would've already hung up their jerseys. They'll be leaving huge shoes to fill, and here's hoping and praying they will be filled up by those who are talented, courageous and deserving enough to not only pick up from where these current stalwarts will be leaving off but also become even way better than them overall.
Is the loss to Puerto Rico a painful one? If you would ask me, it's both
a yes and a no. Yes because inconsistency killed Gilas for the
umpteenth time, and no because I
haven't set really high expectations for them to begin with. Even before
the World Cup started, I've already told myself that, no
matter what happens, I will still be proud of Gilas as making the World
Cup stage alone is already a huge accomplishment in itself. This
despite the fact that Gilas benefactor Manny Pangilinan gave them
marching orders to finish 16th or higher in the competiton, which is
obviously no longer possible by this time. Surely, you can't win them all as they say, but you can definitely learn from your
lessons from your losses and improve on your weaknesses while
maintaining your strengths. Weaknesses aside, I'm still liking the way Gilas has developed through the years. All the team's hard work with Mr. Pangilinan's generous assistance is finally bearing fruit. With the way they have improved their game up to and past
respectability, there is no way for them to go but up.
So to Gilas, let's go for the next highest position instead, which is 17th. My mission for you now, should you choose to accept it, is to go out with a
big bang by beating Senegal tomorrow. Kaya huwag kayong masiraan ng loob, Gilas Pilipinas! Batid naming ibinigay niyo ang lahat ng inyong makakaya, bagama't kulang kayo sa karanasang manalo. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Tatagan niyo ang inyong loob at ipanalo ang huli niyong laban bukas. Go for broke and give the Filipino nation something to smile about in the end!
P. S. At almost the same time Gilas lost to Puerto Rico, the Philippine Azkals somehow gave a wounded nation something to cheer about by winning big over Chinese Taipei to the tune of 5-1 in the 2014 Philippine Peace Cup. The win was made possible with two goals from Mark Hartmann and one each from Rob Gier and James Younghusband plus an own goal from Chen Yi Wei. They will go for a third straight crown for the country this Saturday night against Myanmar. I'll be there as the action happens!
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