I’m a diehard DETROIT PISTONS fan, but this heroic play by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is simply amazing! He and his team is one game away from winning the Eastern Conference Championship.
Will it be Cleveland vs. San Antonio in the NBA Finals?
Detroit will have something to say about it in Game 6 of their best of seven series.
With the lifting by FIBA of the country’s suspension in FIBA-sanctioned international tournaments, all eyes are now turned towards the formation of the all-pro basketball team. After much soul searching and introspection, Coach Chot Reyes finally named the twelve players who will attempt at regaining asian basketball glory it once dominated 40 years ago. Not only will this team carry the country’s colors for the Asian championships, it will also try to earn a slot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics! Impossible? Hmm… As the saying goes, there’s no harm in trying.
The politics of Philippine basketball never ceases to amaze me. It’s the copycat of the politics that commonly hog the headlines of newspapers. We get to see basketball officials callously fight over perks and privileges instead of planning, preparing and implementing a sound basketball program that will bring us back to the map of competitiveness. No wonder these two protagonists — Pilipinas Basketball (PB) and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) — are headed, respectively, by tradpols themselves — former Tarlac Rep. Peping Cojuangco and former Laguna Gov. Joey Lina. With the kind of leadership that these politicians-turned-sportsmen have provided our athletes, it is not surprising why we are where we are now.
Considering that Manny Pangilinan (who is the acceptable, unanimous choice of both the PB and the BAP) has expressed his sincere desire and willingness to accept the Chairmanship and Presidency of the newly-formed Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) in a dual capacity, will the two groups finally put aside their personal differences and fulfill their promise to end their useless bickerings that triggered the suspension of the Philippines from participating in international basketball competitions?
Hello FIBA, are you listening?
Filipino basketball fans await your decision with bated breath.
If you have no idea what this basketball controversy is all about, here is Quinito Henson’s take on the matter.
Gone were the days when the U.S.A. Dream Team — composed of NBA basketball superstars — would pulverize their opponents in convincing fashion in international basketball competitions. Pioneered by the Michael Jordan-led Dream Team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the U.S. reigned supreme over all other national teams with an average winning margin of 40-50 points per game. At that time, it seemed almost impossible to beat a team cruising for slam dunks at every single opportunity even with the best European players combined. It felt like the gods have come down from heaven to play basketball against the cream of the crop.
Now, that aura of invincibility has dissipitated with the recent setbacks suffered by the United States at the hands of its toughest competitors. In the 2004 Athens Olympics for example, the U.S. placed a poor third behind Argentina and Italy. In the last 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championships held in Indianopolis, U.S.A., the U.S. Team headed by Ben Wallace and Paul Pierce came up short of expectations, bagging a disappointing sixth place, with Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) eventually winning the gold medal. To add to their woes, the “psychological” advantage they once had over their opponents has become more of a myth than reality, with players like Manu Ginobili of Argentina and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany showing the world that they too have the “balls” to play ball with the best players the United States can offer.
Will the U.S. this time finally come to their senses and regain the throne as the undisputed king in international basketball? Can the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony overcome the odds and prove the skeptics wrong? Do they have what it takes to win the gold medal in the ongoing 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championships in Saitama, Japan?
At the rate the U.S. Team is playing, I still believe they are in the best position to bring home the bacon. What they lack in shooting — they can surely compensate in defense and athleticism. What they lack in height — they can undoubtedly compensate in hussle and tenacity in rebounding. But hold it. They can also shoot well, though not as deadly as the snipers from Lithuania, Italy and Spain, just to name a few. True, the one-on-one style of play is no match for the zone defense. But hey, the fastbreaking run and gun machines of Coach Mike Krzyzewski will see to it that they will be on the opposite side of the court even before the burly Europeans can set-up their vaunted defense. They simply cannot beat what they cannot catch.
Obviously, I’m cheering for the Yankees this time. How about you? What’s your fearless forecast? (photo above courtesy of usabasketball.com)
BLOG UPDATE 9-1-06: In a stunning upset, the Greeks convincingly defeated the mighty U.S. Team, 101-95. Greece and Spain will battle it out for the gold medal while the United States will settle for a bronze medal duel with Argentina.
I guess that answers my question. The sport has become so competitive that the balance of power is not as lopsided as it used to be. Congratulations to Greece for proving to the world that not all great players come from the NBA!
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