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SUPPORTING basketball, more than anything, is paying
homage to the culture of a nation. That’s why no less
than the sport’s most visible backer continues to
believe in the
Philippines’
most popular sport.
 Manny
V. Pangilinan, president of the Samahang
Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), encouraged basketball
stakeholders and corporate leaders present during a
recognition function last week to continue to be
involved in developing the sport despite the tremendous
odds it faces on the international scene.
“Basketball seems quixotic, a fool’s dream, even a
nightmare, but the fact is, Filipinos have, since time
immemorial, been in love with basketball,” Pangilinan
said in a speech he made as guest speaker in the
season-ending Philippine Basketball Association Press
Corps Awards Night held recently.
“We
can’t turn our backs against [our countrymen], now more
than ever. Even against the odds,” he added. “And if we
love our people, if we respect their desire and want
them to achieve their dreams and not disappoint them, I
see no choice but for us to support basketball.”
From
merely being a spectator watching at the sidelines to
being thrust front and center onto the national scene,
Pangilinan’s role in Philippine basketball has
metamorphosed from simply owning a franchise in
professional basketball into being the leader of the new
national federation.
Pangilinan’s first-hand involvement, especially because
he is a renowned corporate figure, drew optimism from
basketball stakeholders. But the renewed fervor hit a
bump when the
Philippines
was eliminated in the Fiba-Asia qualifiers earlier this
month, dashing its hopes yet again of an Olympic berth.
“Despite
our loss, I was privileged to have witnessed our team
work very hard and weep after our elimination,”
Pangilinan also said recently. “And after Tokushima,
some of you continue to question, ‘does basketball
really love us?’ Judging from our recent experience, the
answer seems ‘no’.”
In a
rare public display of disheartenment, Pangilinan was a
picture of gloom immediately after the
Philippines-Jordan game that cut short Team Pilipinas’s
Olympic dream.
The
loss, however, has toughened the resolve of Pangilinan
and basketball stakeholders under the SBP. Hiring a
foreign coach as national consultant, naturalizing
foreign players, and adopting Fiba rules in the
professional leagues are among the moves that have been
suggested to alter the Filipinos’ chances in world
basketball. A target date has actually been set, as the
Philippines looks to participate in the World
Championships in 2009 in Turkey.
“The
occasional failure sometimes improves the ability to
excel, which is where we are now,” Pangilinan said. “It
is time to start from scratch and make new plans. With
the resolve and determination [of everyone], it can be
the trial from which we can rise.”
Besides
basketball, Pangilinan also backs an international
badminton tournament and, through Smart Communications,
a myriad of other sports events. As the Beijing Olympics
near, a few national federations have appealed to
Pangilinan for financial and logistical support, one of
them boxing.
“I
concede that basketball may not be the best sport
available to the Philippines to bring us an Olympic gold
in the immediate future,” Pangilinan said. “But the role
of basketball in illustrating, expressing and
reinforcing the tradition and practices central to this
nation… simply cannot be ignored.” |
