Asiad a different animal

Before anyone casts aspersions on Gilas for landing ninth in men’s 5x5 basketball at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, let’s put things into perspective. Basketball in the Asian Games is a stand-alone competition, not a qualifier for either the FIBA World Cup or Olympics. That’s why FIBA doesn’t mandate affiliates like the Japanese B-League and Korean Basketball League to release players for the Asiad.

Because basketball in the Asian Games isn’t FIBA-sanctioned (although FIBA officials and game rules are used), it’s the prerogative of the host organizers to lay down their own eligibility policy. In FIBA, a national team may enlist only one naturalized import and players born out of the country they represent will be recognized as locals if their passports were issued before turning 18 (recently adjusted from 16). FIBA, however, has the discretion of making exceptions to the under-18 rule as in the case of Greg Slaughter, Chris Newsome, Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips who all attended university in the Philippines. In the Asiad, the eligibility rule is simply “passports-only.”

The Asian Games are held every four years and now in the process of calendar adjustment. Because of the pandemic, the Hangzhou Asian Games were delayed a year and played in 2023. The Nagoya edition got the Games back on track but the next Asiad in Doha will be in 2031 or five years from now as the Olympic Council of Asia decided to re-schedule the event on odd-number years to align with the Olympics.

Given the Asian Games cycle and eligibility parameters, SBP has time to plan how to address the issue of forming a competitive team without overseas players but with an unlimited number of naturalized imports and Fil-foreigners. The constraint is under Philippine law, it takes a while for naturalization as there must be passage at the House of Representatives and Senate then final approval by Malacañang. Other countries are able to naturalize through an executive edict. This is where planning comes in.

In Hangzhou, Gilas coach Tim Cone said SBP had less time to prepare than for Nagoya but Justin Brownlee was healthy and at his peak. The 2023 team had size to cope with opposing towers and listed Brownlee, Ange Kouame, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Oftana, Arvin Tolentino, CJ Perez, Scottie Thompson, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Newsome, Chris Ross and Kevin Alas. That year, Gilas played in a FIBA window in February, the SEA Games in May and World Cup with Jordan Clarkson in August before the Asian Games in September. Brownlee wasn’t in the World Cup lineup and was fresh for the Asiad.

In Nagoya, Gilas entered the lion’s den where Bahrain and China waited in ambush. Bahrain brought in four naturalized imports, including a six-year NBA veteran while China was bannered by five players standing 6-9 to 7-3. The disaster was expected. Losing by 44 to China to finish out of the quarterfinals was painful but the setback should serve as a reawakening of what SBP has to do to prepare for the next Asian Games five years away.