EDITORS DESK
Ramon Bonilla
By the time you read this, Gilas Pilipinas may have won in Lebanon, a salvation of sorts for a squad that has been battling a terrible fight outside the actual corners of the hard court.
If fate comes in a form of bad luck, the Filipino team — with a certified NBA star on board — could be flying home on dampened morale, stowing an excess baggage that has grown huge from a pile of subpar performances as of late.
A defeat wouldn’t also sound great from the voices of the local basketball leaders, nor a pill that is as easy to swallow for the players themselves. Think of this: in less than a year, the country will host the FIBA World Cup, the centerpiece tournament. Another chapter of misfortune could add a bitter taste just as organizers in Manila drum up the festivities for the spectacle.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), together with major stakeholders of the country’s most beloved sport, is set to kick off the countdown for the World Cup, which will also be co-hosted by Japan and Indonesia in August 2023.
It’s a painstaking process of putting together the resources to stage the event. Expect world powerhouse Team USA, European giants Spain or France, and even Asia and Oceania’s Australia or China, trooping to arenas, like the humongous Philippine Arena.
But hosting the tournament isn’t just a job that is to groom Manila as a basketball haven for at least a week or two. The Filipino fans aren’t even concerned if the Smart Araneta Coliseum will be polished to its shining best of the past, nor the congestion to Mall of Asia Arena would be eased when the games begin on peak hours.
This is about the national team, of building a fierce set of men, only the brave ones, who can go toe-to-toe against the visitors, even against the tallest or the mightiest. A team that can represent the Philippine flag so well in front of the adoring crowd, who will fight until the final buzzer, not just to compete, but with a mission to win.
The road to the World Cup could have started earlier, not just on the countdown, the mascot or logo reveals. The main drive should have been centered on assembling players, sticking them together for a long haul, and making them fit and ready for tournaments in the lead-up to the World Cup.
From the horror of the Southeast Asian Games defeat, the forgettable finish in the FIBA Asia Cup, the falling out of promising rosters and coaches that even tickled national interest, Gilas Pilipinas has been on the receiving end of backlash.
But there’s hope. A stretch of 365 days could spell a breather for the squad that has suffered the imposing rage of die-hard fans. It’s a chance to realign, rebuild, and get the bearings back.
For all the pain and frustration, the second wind could emerge in Beirut.
(Ramon Rafael C. Bonilla is the head of Sports section of Manila Bulletin.)