The way Smart-Gilas (the National youth developmental team) routed the Powerade Philippine Team (represented by the PBA’s best players) last night (98-69), showed how way behind the professional cagers are as far as international play is concerned.
Andy Mark Barroca, in action and in the "land of the giants" during one of the Smart-Gilas' international tournaments this year.
Though the PBA boasts of being a professional league, and having in their backyard the “cream of the crop” players of the land, yet, ranged against the younger and more inexperienced Smart-Gilas team Monday night, it was the Powerade team that looked more like a squad playing in an inter-barangay tournament.
Defense and outside shooting, two main ingredients for international success was lacking in Powerade RP’s performance last night in the charity game held for the benefit of the Typhoon Ondoy victims.
On the other hand, the young turks of Serbian coach Rajko Toroman played with a mean, run-and-gun type of game–a performance similar to a leave-no-hostage-behind kind of a mission.
In a way, the contrasting performances of Smart-Gilas and Powerade Pilipinas gave the viewing public an idea of which RP squad ought to be representing the country in future international plays.
With majority of the players from Smart-Gilas given three-year contracts, the nucleus would be solid where hopefully, this developmental team could eventually qualify for the London Olympics. That is, given that they play well in the future FIBA-Asia men’s championships in 2011.
London’s hosting of the Olympics is still 2 and 1/2 years away.
And with Smart-Gilas expected to grow further with exposures here and abroad, I’m pretty sure this collaborative effort among the
country’s basketball shareholders led by the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP), Smart-Gilas, among others, would be making some noise in the international scene in the next two years.
I was telling Mark Barroca, one of the Smart-Gilas’ promising stars, who runs the point guard position, that should they be offered a contract extension right after their current contract expires in 2011, it would be wise to extend his service for the national team.
Why? Because that would mean a continued basketball program for the country, something we never really had since the mid-1980s when Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco funded the Northern Consolidated Cement Team.
Mentored by American coach Ron Jacobs, the NCC batch, included future PBA stars like Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Yves Dignadice, Elmer Reyes, etc. who brought honor to the country with triumphs in the 1985 William Jones Cup and the country’s last Asian men’s championship crown in 1986 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Hopefully, Smart-Gilas would signal the renaissance of Philippine basketball, which has long been overdue considering the countless years wasted due to bickering among our basketball officials.
It’s never too late.
If Iran could be back-to-back FIBA-Asia men’s basketball champions and play in the Olympics, so can the Philippines.
Photo Source: http://www.ngetstudio.com/blog/image.axd?picture=20090516-barroca.jpg