Basketball in Asiad: Why all the fuss?
When the drama entitled “Basketball in Asian Games” competed with ABS-CBN’s “Ang Probinsyano” for attention, basketball fans raised hell over the initial decision not to send a basketball team to the Asian Games. Netizens went wild, journalists had a field day, columnists played the blame-game and the ordinary man on the street had something to say about the issue. The consensus was that it was wrong for the Philippines not to send a basketball team to the Asian Games. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for basketball and am involved in the sport in multiple ways as a journalist, tournament manager and sports director. And I also prayed that the decision be reversed. The good news is that we are sending a team to be coached by Yeng Guiao and basketball fans are happy again.
The bad (and sad news) is that this drama exposed once again our country’s “over-dependence” on basketball as a savior for Philippine Sports. By not sending a basketball team to the Asian Games, the country would’ve committed a mortal sin and would’ve done the country a great dis-service. By not joining the basketball event, the country’s sports scene would’ve committed suicide. Exaggerated this may be, but it sure felt like that, didn’t it?
This is why multiple-sport events like the Asian Games and the Olympics are excellent opportunities for the country to re-visit the way we look into sports. Basketball has wrongfully been treated by us fans as the savior of Pinoy sports and is expected to raise the level of our athletes over-all. We seem to forget that basketball is still a size and height game and it’s virtually impossible for us to win a gold in the sport at the world level. Again, I’m not saying that praising basketball is wrong. What’s wrong is that the country hasn’t been able to train its focus or drive on sports that have better chances of making Pinoy sports at the world level. Have we already forgotten that Hidilyn Diaz won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016? Then we cry when basketball pulls out? We should be crying a river when we find out that not much is being done to give weightlifting its due attention and support.
To me, playing along with the basketball in Asian Games drama is like a ploy to hide the fact that we may not have too many potential podium finishers at the Asian Games. And we’re all in it for the ride! I can see it now. Basketball now has to play the role (indirectly) of the scapegoat of why we won’t do well in the Asian Games. What a perfect script. We already have a reason for a press release/report on why the Philippines didn’t do well in the Asian Games. In hindsight, I would now opt for not sending a basketball team to the Asian Games so we can get a clear look at the real status of sports. How will the other sports perform if basketball didn’t show up?
Having said that, where are all the press releases and pre-event assessments of the other teams that are going to the Asian Games? Which events are we joining? Why have all the talks about the Asian Games only about basketball? Again, why all the talk about basketball?
We must all remember that the Asian Games, like the Olympics, is a multi-sport event featuring 60 sporting disciplines and 45 countries. Yes, SIXTY events. Basketball is only one of the 60. The games will run from August 18 to September 2 in the cities of Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia. The Philippines is sending a delegation of 335 athletes, coaches and officials. Two hundred seventy-two are athletes spread over 31 sports. Among the biggest names in the contingent include Daniel Caluag of BMX biking, Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting, jujitsu’s Meggie Ochoa and Annie Ramirez, judokas Kiyomi Watanabe and Mariya Takahashi, and gymnast Carlos Yulo, all who are considered the country’s best bets to win a medal.
And so I ask again, why all the fuss about basketball? Our Asian neighbors are probably laughing at us now and how we place too much spotlight on basketball. Another important fact that we must all remember is that basketball is good for only one medal and won’t have much of an impact on our over-all standing. The medal-rich events are those individual sports where medals are aplenty. Remember a guy named Michael Phelps, the most be-medalled athlete in Olympic history? He won a total of 28 Olympic medals, 23 of these gold, spread over five Olympiads.
It’s high time that we put everything in the proper perspective when it comes to basketball and its role in Philippine sports. Let’s support basketball in competitions where it’s on solo flight mode just like the recent FIBA Asia Under 18 Championships where we placed fourth and qualified for the FIBA Under 19 World Cup next year. We also have the ongoing FIBA World Cup Qualifiers where Gilas Pilipinas has had a very interesting ride. But for multi-sport events like the Asian Games, Olympics and the Southeast Asian Games, basketball is a mere speck in the bigger ocean of sports. Other sports also deserve our attention, love and support.
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