IT is so disheartening to see that we Filipinos spend P70 million pesos on a sport we can never be competitive at internationally and neglect those sports where we can be competitive, like baseball and football (soccer) and other team sports.
Personally, Philippine basketball has been too boring to watch because on the one hand, the country dominates regional competitions such as the SEABA [Southeast Asia Basketball Association], while on the other hand, we cannot even qualify for the any of the major world competitions, even by sending professional and Fil-foreign players from the PBA [Philippine Basketball Association].
In addition, politics governs the management of the sport in the country. Even the PBA has become boring to watch because even with all that's been happening -- the coach switchings, the confusing multi-player deals, etc. -- the quality of the games played hasn't improved.
-- Marcelo dela Peña, Australia (via e-mail)
Why basketball?
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Well said Mr. Pena.
I love basketball! I played HS and College ball. I love watching the PBA, the NBA, the PBL and even the defunct MBA. We just cant get enough basketball! Whew! We filipinos really love that American Sport... Well who doesnt? But the fact is that there are other sports besides basketball. Sports that we can compete and we can be successful. Probably its time to ease out a bit on BBall and spread the love to the other sports as well. With a big budget like that for BBall i think its unfair to the other sports.. The probability of grabbing a gold medal in BBall at the Olympics is like 1-5%. And that's the truth gentlemen. Boxing, Billiards, Wushu, Gymnastics, Diving... the list goes on and on... those are sports that we have a big chance of landing a medal. Only P30M?? Come on man!
You're right, watching PBA is now a bore (with the exception of championship series involving one's favorite team). However, we should continue to support our national basketball team in its quest for an Olympic slot however far fetched it may seem.
A healthy Ron Jacobs may not have necessarily assured us beating the mighty Chinese quintet, but it could have been pretty interesting to see how we could have fared against them. I'm sure that we could have given them a close contest which would have rallied our basketball nation to believe in ourselves again. Unfortunately, we never did saw that game.
Everyone of us are entitled to a bit of "Man of La Mancha" in pursuing our goals, or a "chinaman chance" in trying to overcome odds in this game of life.
the biggest reason why basketball remains the most popular sport is because 10 people can play with a single ball and a makeshift hoop. All other sports require multiple equipments...all these then translate to a nation passionate about the game, no matter how mediocre we fare internationally.
Basketball is played by tall people.We are not made for this sport genetics wise,because we are a "bansot race".It's time to wake up from this kalokohan.Definitely other sports can benefit if we put money and effort to them.We know those sports already but nagpupumilit pa rin tayo sa basketball.all of this non-sense about being our favorite sport is hulabula.Basketball is an american influence on our culture,the heck most of us want to be americans,right!?hence,it's popularity.And only americans like their own sports,well aside from us filipinos.The world plays and loves one universal sport and that is football(soccer for americans,& filipinos).Now do we want to become americans & play basketball or find a filipino sport that we could be really good at.Again,it's up to us amer...ehem filipinos.
Maybe it's just your personal opinion that PBA is boring to watch. Because in reality that is not the case for Filipinos here in the country. For your information, ticket sales and viewership ratings have increased significantly during the last Philippine Cup. In fact, there was a time that PBA had beaten Channel 7 & Channel 2 for the number 1 spot on primetime. It's a different case right now because the top players are training in the national team.
My point is, with every barangay having a basketball court, and every street having makeshift rings, you can never really remove basketball from the Filipino culture.
And who says, we cannot be competitive in international competition? We almost beat South Korea in their homecourt in the 2002 Asian Games. They became the eventual Gold Medalists.
Our basketball has improved a lot - we got taller and quicker players now, better coaches and strategies and a corporate backing/ funding that seems to really believe that we could fare well in international competitions.
Guess what - international teams have also grown taller and quicker and even beat regularly the so called dream teams of our idol - the US of A.
Now, is that millions spent on basketball really worth it?
The P70million pesos spent should not be our problem. Why whine about it? Whose money is it anyway? The advertisers, right? (San Miguel/PLDT/etc). So what's the fuss, it's not your money, is it?
Filipinos just love to play and watch the game. And basketball is a good form of exercise (run,dribble, jump, shoot) for our body. And most significantly it is a very effective form of advertisement, that's why the P70M.
Whoever believes that loving a sport (basketball in this case) means "excelling" in competition may have to revisit his view of sports. It's beyond international excellence. Sports is also a tool to build character, discipline and education; it's a venue to mobilize people, to advertise your products, to ean a living.
Basketball just happened to be this nations first love. Live with it.
The Basketball fever is an example of how Filipinos react to change... We're just simply retroactive in life. We see good opportunity at the very end of the rope, when everything is almost gone then we see the light. I only hope our countrymen see the light before everything becomes hopeless for all.
densmd,
Don't kids in Brazil or other South American countries play football barefoot in the streets and dirt with just wound up rope for a ball? I don't think it can get cheaper than that.
I agree with the blog post that we can excel in sports other than basketball, but its just that the sport has had a long history in our country that it can be hard to introduce other sports that can rival its popularity. But I believe in Visayas, football has been a growing sport and has a large following especially in universities. So, it's not hard to say that Filipinos can find interest in other competitive physical activities other than running back and forth and throwing a ball into the air.
(sorry i'm just not a fan) peace!
Its really simple.Basketball is like life,full of surprises,failures,hardships,and all other emotions.And the pinoys can easily relate to this.Its not the technicalities of the game,as some would say.Its also a mixture of other sports,there's the mental side,like playing the chess,there's also the physically side,which can be relate to some of the olympics game,such as jumping,sprinting,hurdles,so forth.And thats what I think what makes basketball so popular for the pinoys......Tanggapin na natin.....masaya sa basketball....you can't see that with the other sports,that other suggest....where even one sport can only be decided on the line,where's the thrill and excitement there???I don't know but it seems its olympics all in one....don't you think?
Are we actually talking about basketball in where we aspire to excel in international competitions?Are you kidding me?Forget about it.
It's a surpise that a fellow Filipino who lives in a foreign land Australia could even have the guts to say that PBA has been a boring one. Please keep your mouth SHUT, if you havce nothing else to say good things about what's happening here in the Philippines.
Ernesto,
The money spent by the advertisers isn't my money? Am I not paying for their products with my money?
And don't worry, I am living with the fact that basketball is the most popular game in the country.
Jovel,
Sure, masaya sa basketball. Hindi na nga lang ako kasama dun sa mga nasisiyahan. And no, hindi ako naniniwala na hindi mo nakikita ang excitement sa basketball sa ibang sport. Lahat ng sport exciting. Depende sa nanonood. Try watching other types of games sometime.
I love basketball and I played it… that’s my sport… and I like watching PBA, because I am a fan of Ginebra… especially all Filipino…
But Mr. Dela Pena has a point… maybe it is the right time for our country to focus and develop other sports, than just basketball, which we could bring our country to map of sports or even Olympic records…
Our government should appoint a good leader, with no political ambition, no selfish ideas and especially with sense of humiliation and conscience… but a man of nationalistic and sports minded…
We have been sending a lot of basketball teams abroad, even our own superstars, but they ended up weeping, brings home nothing but only with their own balls…
We should spend sports budget to scout a potential sportsman or sportswoman nationwide, even to a remote rural areas… I’m sure there are ambitious sports people in those places, with out any capacity, financially or connections to any sports body in the government, to assist them explore and exposed their talent…
Schools and university sports tournaments are not enough to discover the hidden talents of a person… there are gifted and capable sports minded out there who can’t afford to stay in colleges… and these people should be scouted and discovered…
Basketball is an addiction. there is no cure unless you become Mr. Alzheimer. It is true that it has been frustrating for the Philippines for not being able to join international competition, or could not even qualify for one. there is a huge problem, and that is BAsketball commercialization! everything revolves around how much the team, players, coaches, owners and other can get get. The seriousness for the love of the game has been substituted with fame and fortune.
Unless basketball returns to our Hearts, we can never play the game like Losayga and others did us proud.
Look at the so called TEAM USA composed of MJ wanabees? how far can they go, i say they will lose and maybe end up for a bronze or silver, but not the GOLD.
Buboy, you have written an excellent point!
We should spend sports budget to scout a potential sportsman or sportswoman nationwide, even to a remote rural areas…
the problem is not everyone share the idea of getting people from the PROVINCE, i remember long ago, MBA or MEtropolitan Basketball Asssociation was still a promising project, where all players new and old compete with their home town teams. Most of their players were unheard and did not even come close to be in the PBA, when the MBA failed to achieve success, most of their players like adducul and ferriols landed contracts with teams in the PBA...
Im sure that we have a lot of basketball heors waiting to be called for duty...Why not scout them as buboy says, well i say
its all about how much money you can bring to a team francise, and not hoe good you play.
Bart Says:
August 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Buboy, you have written an excellent point!
We should spend sports budget to scout a potential sportsman or sportswoman nationwide, even to a remote rural areas…
Hi Bart, Don't you know we are still under the spell of kami-kami and kumpadre system? Those in power do not observe international standard of excellence. It is their system that prevails, mga kaibigan lamang, yun lang mga kakampi nila, at yung kanilang mga kumpadre are the ones who they will send to anywhere maski na mga kahiya-hiya ang mga ipadadala nila sa abroad. They don't care about the country's reputation abroad. If they do, Gloria Arroyo has long been gone from Malacanang.
Thank you for the acknowledgment Bart…
The Olympic has just started, and we are almost done and bring home nothing… AGAIN!!!…
China, South Korea, USA and other country are spending too much money for sports activities… they wanted to be always as competitive as possible and bring their nation to be known worldwide with this type of events… not just with some negative issues… as our country has known nowadays… as #1 most corrupt country in Asia and maybe in the next few years, when Arroyo still there… #1 in the world…
These countries were scouting and training their athletes at young age… and I guess it’s free and with some allowances… all they need to do is exposed and explore their talents, spent their time to sports which they want and love most… for their family and for their country…
Look at our boxing heroes… perhaps, these heroes are not even gone to colleges or universities to train and join all competitions to be discovered… but still, they excel to their skills and talent and they became our national treasure… they bring success and honor to our country…
These boxing hero’s are just physically fit… as they are not interested to sit in classrooms… and I believed, even our basketball superstar too… some of them did not finished their college course… they just love to play their games or sport and that’s it…
The reality is… only the rich and average family’s could bring and enrolled their children to colleges and university to be trained and discovered… and some at early stages as kids who got enrolled to some sports program and athletic events which requires certain fees…
Let’s give each and everyone a chance to be discovered and bring honor to their family and country at no cost… from less fortunate sports minded people to the World of Sports through physical abilities… to brilliant minded people to the world of Academic through mental abilities…
I believed that there are lots of people out there who want to be discovered… with dreams and visions to bring hope and triumph for their family and to our country… and they needed to be discovered…
We have sent a lot of basketball teams abroad, including our own superstars, but ended up crying, nothing brings home more than just their own balls ...