As sport mirrors life, the successful stint of the Gilas Pilipinas Men’s Basketball team at the Fiba Asia qualifiers in the Clark bubble bore many lessons for us, and not just in basketball.
Their victories against tough rivals proved many skeptics wrong. The post-game press conferences gave me a rare opportunity to take a deeper look in to what makes coach Tab Baldwin and this team tick.
Thus, no matter how they perform in the Olympic Qualifiers in Belgrade against formidable opponents such as world No. 5 Serbia and world No. 9 the Dominican Republic, the Gilas team’s success brings useful lessons for many of us entrepreneurs in the Visayas and Mindanao upon which new opportunities now beckon as we move forward in recovery. Allow me to share some of my own insights.
First, they are a flexible. Many of their big players, like Justine Baltazar and Kai Sotto move fast and can shoot from the outside, their speed a valuable asset against bigger teams.
Time was when our big men simply could not play beyond the Center and Power Forward positions and thus were content to post up. The new big men can shift to other positions. Being big and quick is hard to defend against, making the player so effective on the court.
Second, their confidence under pressure. Unintimidated, tenacious and consistent, the Gilas guards like Dwight Ramos, SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos are not afraid to take the drive to the basket when they see the opening in the paint.
Third is a passion for continuous improvement and can demonstrate discipline as a team. We often hear of the word system in the post game analyses. Without a system, an organized approach to a challenge, there can be no order, and without order, discipline is a lonely word. The lesson here is that we all have to develop our own order of things, into a system.
These things matter now that the terrain is changing. Like the reorganized Fiba Asia that now includes World No. 3 Australia, the Asian game for us and erstwhile rivals has become more competitive. In business terms, we are now entering an exciting new age where new markets have opened up via the internet.
Our level of competition has thus increased, and opportunities to compete and trade have likewise broadened through online channels and platforms in a way that we, just a few years ago, would never imagine.
Just like the team that swept their assignments in Clark, the Gilas imagination, flexibility and confidence under pressure will inspire us as we move forward in this brave new normal. Let us all be inspired and move forward.
Kudos to Davao City
My hats off to the Davao City government for enforcing rules on bike lanes against those obstructing these vital transport lanes used by many employees. This will surely encourage more to consider the bicycle as a means of in city transport.
The bike lanes provision complements new bus-based systems such as the Davao Light and Power's electric best bus and the high priority bus system instituted by the government that will transform how many Davaoeños travel within the city.
As the countries cities continue to grow, the capability to provide low cost, safe and modern mobility options to a large number of citizens will help manage excessive vehicular traffic, that many studies have already shown, impedes growth.
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