Gilas Diary: Changsha Day 5 (When RDO mused about Chinese Taipei)
2015-09-27
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Lin Chih Chieh of Chinese Taipei. (Photo from FIBA.com)
By Carlo Pamintuan
Ranidel De Ocampo looked on as Chinese Taipei walked into the dining hall of the Vaya International Hotel in Changsha, China. All the teams competing in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, except the host nation, were checked into the hotel.
Oftentimes, the players would mingle with opponents they’ve battled or even played with before in different leagues and tournaments all over the world. Gilas Pilipinas just came from practice in preparation for the second group stage. Although they did not get the result they wanted with a 1-1 record in Group E, the Filipinos were in a relatively good situation.
They still held their own destiny in their hands as a sweep of the next three games including a very tough one against Iran would send them straight to the top and give them an easier assignment in the crossover quarterfinals.
Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, was on its way out. Its performance was not that far from Gilas. They had a few bad quarters and some really good ones but they were on their way out.
Fourth placers in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, the Taiwanese were relegated to battling Singapore, Malaysia, and Kuwait for 13th to 16th place.
It was not entirely their fault. They landed in a group with Lebanon, Kazakhstan, and Qatar. Weaker teams such as Hong Kong and India made it to the second group stage while Chinese Taipei bowed out early because of the luck of the draw.
Placed in the Group of Death, Chinese Taipei lost a close one to Lebanon in their opening game. They lost to Kazakhstan because one bad quarter. They defeated Qatar but it was moot at that point. They were not going to qualify even if they defeated the Qataris by 50 because of the win-over-the-other rule.
With Lin Chih-Chieh announcing that this would be his last time to represent his country in international tournaments, it appears like the golden age of their basketball program is about to draw to a close.
“Akala ng iba 10 years lang sila magkakasama pero ang totoo niyan, 2001 pa lang sila na yung team na naglaro sa Jones Cup,” De Ocampo said. “Nung first time naglaro yung team na yun, nakalaban ko na sila sa Taiwan.”
Back in the Jones Cup, Chinese Taipei had two teams: their main team and a group of youngsters being groomed to replace them. Back in 2001, Lin and his teammates were the young squad but their performance then was indicative of how good they were going to be.
“Nung binuo sila, nag-champion agad sila sa Jones Cup,” De Ocampo added. “Sila yung mas batang team pero alam na ng lahat na sila talaga yung mas magaling. Dalawa yung team nila noon, parehong malakas pero sila yung priority.”
It’s easy to daydream about having a team that has been together as long as this Chinese Taipei squad. Even De Ocampo does so sometimes.
“Pwede sanang gawin sa atin yun, lalo na kung yung gobyerno natin full support sa basketball program,” he said. “Kaso hindi e. Parang yung nangyayari kasi ngayon, bahala na yung basketball community na suportahan yung sarili nila. Kaya rin siguro hindi nagiging tuluy-tuloy ang takbo ng Philippine team kasi sa mga nakaraang taon, nagiiba rin yung sumusuporta.”
De Ocampo knows that when it comes to just pure basketball talent, Chinese Taipei won’t be able to hang with the Philippines. However, in 2013, they defeated Gilas at the MOA Arena because they were the more cohesive unit. While the Chot Reyes-led team was still trying to find its way, the Taiwanese already faced all kinds of adversity. The 16,000-strong crowd cheering on Gilas was not a big problem.
“Kung tao-tao lang, mas magaling tayo sa kanila, pero what more pa kung 15 years na tayong magkakasama di ba? Yung may core talaga tapos nagdadagdag na lang pag may malakas na dadating at nagbabawas nung mga tumatanda na, hindi yung every year hindi natin alam kung ano yung team na mabubuo natin,” De Ocampo continued.
“Masarap kasi makalaro yung mga matagal mo nang nakakasama. Nagkaka-amuyan na kayo e. Tingin lang alam mo na anong gusto nila gawin.”
De Ocampo sat on the table with Gary David and Jayson Castro. The trio has been inseparable since the formation of Gilas 3.0. However, from their trips to Estonia, Taiwan, Cebu, and China, De Ocampo has also developed relationships with players he would not have played with if Gilas was run like Chinese Taipei.
He would not have witnessed how Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario sacrificed being absent of the 2015 PBA Rookie Draft just to be with the team even if their spot on the final 12 was not guaranteed. He would not have seen how Terrence Romeo took Taiwan by storm. He would not have been awed when Andray Blatched collapsed the ring inside the Hoops Dome in Cebu with a two-handed dunk. He would not have had the chance to laugh as Calvin Abueva collapsed it again with his own dunk even if he was specifically told “no dunking.”
“Pero masarap rin kasi yung may bago kang nakakasama e,” De Ocampo realized. “Dito kahit mga bago yung kasama, sa tingin ko maganda rin yung nagkaroon ng opportunity yung iba na ma-represent yung bansa.”
The path Chinese Taipei took to the top level of Asian basketball competition is one way of doing it. And now their cycle is over. It worked because they don’t have a strong professional league in their country. It worked because they were backed up by the government.
The truth is that the Philippine basketball program faces distinctly different challenges. With money coming from the private sector and with a lot of stakeholders involved, there’s bound to be friction at every corner.
The Chinese Taipei route might not be for us but it does not mean we could not learn a few things from them.
For starters, they know that the priority of their basketball community is the national team. They’re always given enough time to prepare and all the stakeholders drop everything to help out.
A two-month preparation for the FIBA competitions simply isn’t ideal. It could be enough to win it all but lengthening it could only do good. We also need to look at our calendar because tired and physically beat-up players show up for national team duties after going through 10 months of the PBA.
Chinese Taipei should serve as a great example that we do not need to look elsewhere to find the winning formula. Every country faces different challenges that require different solutions. The Philippines has the ingredients to be successful in the long term. All we need to do is be unselfish with our resources and we should be fine.
Read more:
http://labanpilipinas.sports5.ph/read.php?v=gilas-diary-changsha-day-5-when-rdo-mused-about-chinese-taipei#ixzz3mu08bMyE
Naglabas na ng sama ng loob si de ocampo. ganda ng sinabi nya about sa program ng basketball dito sa pilipinas.