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    COLUMN: After 'warm-up' vs Bahrain, Gilas vs Jordan should be a dandy

    RHJ and Jordan should be the real barometer for Gilas' medal chances at Asiad
    Sep 27, 2023
    marcio lassiter arvin tolentino asian games chism gilas bahrain
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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    CHICAGO - Headline: Gilas 89. Bahrain 61.

    It's great news for sure. But not the type that should make you choke on your Wednesday morning coffee.

    We cannot just conveniently forget that Bahrain is ranked 69th in the FIBA World rankings. 31 places lower than the young men repping us.

    READ: Gilas Pilipinas opens Asiad medal bid with rout of Bahrain

    Bahrain, an island nation that draws its wealth from oil and gas, is arguably richer, but we also have a world-class budget for basketball. And we have more hoopers than Bahrain has actual people, some 1.48 million per the last census.

    What I'm saying is, this wasn't necessarily a feat of wonder. This was merely getting the job done.

    alfrancis chua marcial chism

    Still, credit where credit is due. And it begins with Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who took the assignment on short notice. Managing star PBA players' egos and making them satisfied with their minutes while playing as a unit isn't easy.

    The SMC bloc, with special mention to sports director Alfranchis Chua, deserve our appreciation for marshalling the manpower necessary for our national team to compete in the Asian Games.

    TAKE A BOW, GENTLEMEN.

    And then there's the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas (SBP). The federation doesn't deserve its flowers. President Al Panlilio and his lieutenants have earned the entire garden.

    Look, you can waste all the time you want arguing on the two lists that may or may not have been submitted to the Hangzhou Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC). At the end of the day, however, the SBP saved us from an embarrassing tournament withdrawal.

    Tapping San Miguel after an exhausting FIBA World Cup 2023 falls in line with what Panlilio has been saying all along. Basketball is a shared passion for all the stakeholders and every entity is encouraged to get involved.

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      Finding success for Gilas on the international stage is hard enough. The task becomes impossible without choreography and cooperation from all of SBP's allies.

      And while I'm at it, let me loop in what our youth team accomplished at the FIBA U16 Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar where they snatched a ticket to the U17 World Cup by beating Japan in an improbable comeback.

      All the talk about the SBP being bereft of a long-term plan only looks idiotic, myopic. Coach Josh Reyes and our boys made sure of that.

      MORE WORK AHEAD

      I sent Panlilio a message to comment on Reyes and the U16 team's triumphs. He didn't reply, perhaps busy at work and didn't have time for a pat on the back.

      Anyway, the Gilas Pilipinas feast at the Asiad should continue tomorrow when they square off against Thailand, which is so far down the FIBA World rankings that you'll probably be asleep once you find them at 91.

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      In case you want to know, just for kicks, the FIBA rankings stop at 159 with the Cook Islands.

      The Gilas game on Saturday versus Jordan should be a dandy. The forecast on that showdown is close with a chance of nasty.

      The Jordanians are led by the prolific Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. One of his gigs is being a TNT import in the PBA. He'll be facing a Gilas team loaded with SMC players.

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      Rivalries, like tiny bubbles, make me happy.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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