The Harbin disaster

One of the darkest chapters in Philippine basketball history was written at the FIBA-Asia Championships in Harbin, China, in 2003. This was when the Philippines finished 15th of 16, ahead of only Malaysia, and marked its worst placing in the tournament’s 49-year history.

The Philippines was prohibited from playing in the 2001 Shanghai edition because of a FIBA ban stemming from a leadership dispute in the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), at the time the country’s FIBA affiliate and National Sports Association (NSA) for basketball as recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

The suspension was lifted to allow the Philippines to play in Harbin.

BAP secretary-general Graham Lim had a direct hand in facilitating the Philippine team’s entry, which was sponsored by Cebuana Lhuillier. Coach was Aric del Rosario.

Lim feverishly tried to beef up the lineup by courting Gary David from the PBL and James Yap, Rich Alvarez, Wesley Gonzales, Paul Artadi, Ranidel de Ocampo and Irwin Sotto from the collegiate ranks but was rebuffed. Lim claimed David was prevented from joining by his PBL mother team Montana Pawnshop, which is a direct competitor of Cebuana Lhuillier while the other players were not released by their schools. The PBA had no representative in the team. It was a clear indication that the BAP had no influence over the country’s major basketball leagues.

In the end, Lim had to be content with a roster that listed Celino Cruz, Marc Pingris, Emerson Oreta, Dennis Madrid, Ricky Calimag, Richie Melencio, Willy Wilson, Bitoy Omolon, Romar Menor, Jonathan de Guzman, Bernzon Franco and Chris Nicdao.

The FIBA-Asia Championships used to be known as the ABC (Asian Basketball Confederation) Championships, which started in 1960. The Philippines topped the biennial tournament in 1960, 1963, 1967, 1973 and 1986 (the last with Ron Jacobs as coach).

Before Harbin, the Philippines’ previous campaign in the FIBA-Asia Championships was in 1999 with coach Vic Sanchez piloting the team to 11th place in another BAP debacle in Fukuoka. Sanchez’ lineup included Wynne Arboleda, Alvin Teng, Melencio, Dondon Hontiveros, Bong Ravena and Gido Babilonia. The team’s most painful losses were to Lebanon by 10, the United Arab Emirates by 14, South Korea by 25 and Uzbekistan by 30.

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In Harbin, the qualified teams were host China, South Korea, Japan, Chinese-Taipei and Hong Kong from East Asia, Qatar and Kuwait from the Gulf, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and India from Middle Asia, the Philippines and Malaysia from Southeast Asia and Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iran from West Asia.

The Philippines was bracketed in Group D with Qatar, Japan and Jordan. To advance, a team had to finish either first or second in a group. The Philippines failed to make it to first base, ending third in Group D after losing to Qatar by eight and Japan by two. Jordan was the Philippines’ only victim.

In the classification round, the Philippines was embarrassed by Syria, 95-77, Kuwait, 79-66, and Hong Kong, 66-58. Del Rosario’s squad would’ve finished dead last but managed to beat Malaysia, 78-63, to avoid the cellar.

China trounced South Korea, 106-96, for the title. Iran took fifth place after losing to South Korea by 24, Qatar by eight and China by 24. Jordan, then a struggling hopeful, placed 10th and wound up its campaign losing to Syria by 17.

The Philippines was again suspended from playing at the FIBA-Asia Championships in 2005, this time because of the leadership dispute involving the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas (SBP) and the BAP. The issue was resolved with the SBP given final recognition by both FIBA and the POC. In 2007, the Philippines was back in action at the FIBA-Asia Championships in Tokushima but could only finish ninth.

Now, in Tianjin, the Philippines will definitely place higher than in Tokushima, having qualified for the eight-team knockout quarterfinals starting tomorrow. The surprise is Jordan which was a whipping boy in Harbin only six years ago and is now a title contender with a naturalized player (Rasheim Wright) and a slew of recruits with solid US NCAA credentials.

This is the first time the Philippines has qualified for the quarterfinals in the FIBA-Asia Championships since 1991 when coach Francis Rodriguez took the team to seventh place behind Johnny Abarrientos, Marlou Aquino, Vic Pablo, Jun Limpot, Ravena, Jolly Escobar and Tony de la Cerna.

At the FIBA-Asia Championships in Seoul in 1995, the Philippines finished 12th, its second worst placing ever. Coach Arlene Rodriguez’ squad would’ve taken 11th spot but lost to Kuwait in a playoff.