What a journey to the FIBA World Cup

Why is the Philippines so fond of thrilling and suspense-filled endings? Why do we always wait for the last minutes of the game to make it through? Why do we like placing our fans on the edge of their seats waiting in suspense? Why is it like an episode of “Probinsyano?”

In 2013, Jimmy Alapag made a clutch triple that led Gilas Pilipinas to a victory over Korea in the FIBA Asia Championship semifinals and a ticket to the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. It was a close, hard game that could’ve gone either way, and many people acknowledge that playing at home played a big role in the feat.

In this recent FIBA World Cup Qualifier that took on a different qualifying procedure (FIFA-style home and away games through six “windows”), Gilas Pilipinas had to win its last two games last week on enemy territory, then pray for needed loss by any of Korea, Lebanon or Jordan on the last day of qualifying to make it to the World Cup. In fairy-tale like ending, Gilas won over Qatar in Doha, then outplayed Kazakhstan in Astana, but that wasn’t it. Japan didn’t lose its last game, beating Qatar, and neither did Lebanon, scoring an upset over New Zealand (which already qualified for the World Cup). Jordan was the key element in their game against Korea. Jordan had to lose for Gilas to move on. The irony of it all was that Jordan was leading Korea for most parts of their game.

At one point, I assumed that Korea would be fine with losing since it already made it to the World Cup. But Korea came from behind to knock out Jordan, thus sending Gilas (and Lebanon) to the World Cup. The Korea-Jordan game ended shortly before the Gilas-Kazakhstan game ended, making Gilas’s win doubly sweeter. Talk about saving the best for last and making the journey a thrilling one.

We must all remember that this was not an easy journey, one that had major ups and downs along the way. Everything was running smoothly until “The Brawl” took place, setting everything back. Coaches and players were suspended. Gilas decided to bring in a new head coach in Yeng Guiao along with new players to replace those who were suspended. We had to play a home game behind closed doors. It was like putting up a brand new team in the middle of a tournament. It didn’t make sense to some, but it just had to be done. The “Brawl” had a great effect on this journey and it was something that we all had to accept.

The biggest effect was that our chances of making it to the FIBA World Cup suddenly dimmed. This dimmed even further when we lost two straight games on home soil, to Kazakhstan and Iran. And so the stage was set for the last window and the need to win two straight games away from home and praying for certain teams to lose their last games.

Over-all, Gilas tapped some 33 players and two coaching staffs to carry the tri-colors of the flag in the twelve games of the FIBA Qualifiers. We finished the first round at 4-2 but battled through some tough moments to end up fourth in the group with a 7-5 win-loss record behind Australia (10-2), Japan (8-4) and Iran (8-4). We took one of the last spots for Asia as the best fourth place finisher between the two groups. New Zealand (10-2), Korea (10-2) and Lebanon (6-6) made it from the other group, while China was already qualified as host of the FIBA World Cup. It was almost a given that Australia and New Zealand would come out on top of the expanded FIBA Asia. The fight for the next five slots was up for grabs from the rest of Asia. With China already in as host, it was predicted that it would be relatively easier for Gilas Pilipinas to make it, based on their previous top two finish at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

 But the others wouldn’t cooperate with this at all. Japan and Korea were impressive and had the best performances. Iran was consistent while Lebanon, Jordan and Gilas were shaky and ended up fighting for the last two slots.

Gilas’s next target in the FIBA World Cup in China is to win more than one game. Easier said than done. We’re praying for a lucky draw where we can bracketed with two other “beatable” teams. Note that we won only one game in the 2014 World Cup in Spain, but the win was so sweet it was like winning a championship. It looks like team chemistry is now improving with players getting to know each other more playing together as a team. Andray Blatche proved that he belongs in the line-up as Jayson Castro proved again why he’s hailed the best point guard in Asia. June Mar Fajardo stepped up at the right time while the squad shot 47% from the field, including 50% from the three-point line.

What a journey indeed. But it isn’t over yet. The FIBA World Cup is up in August in China and that’s a bigger mountain to climb. Gilas will need to find more time to train and play together and that means the PBA making more room for their players to join Gilas practices and games. But then again, what hasn’t the PBA done to support Gilas?

Laban Pilipinas! Puso!