All Sides Of The Story (Part Two)

We arrived at two in the afternoon in the arena, with a lot of people from the local organizing committee still doing preparations that were supposed to be done the day before, especially those damn floor decals. We had an improved sound system that we were testing hours before the game, including all the performers that will show their acts during the halftime break. Two hours before game time, the installation of the decals were completed… we’re ready.

Both teams had their shootarounds immediately. Some players from both teams were present hoisting up their shots. Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley was even accommodating at that moment, we had the chance to take a picture with the three-time NBA Champion. So were the Gilas guys who went in the barriers to pose for selfies with the fans who entered the arena early. 90 minutes before the game, there was zero probability that the game will blow up the way it did. The atmosphere was nowhere near intense; it was more of an excitement.

Twenty minute before tip-off; the official start time of the protocol. All players will officially enter the court for warm ups. Everything that will happen from then on will be done with complete precision; team photo-ops at the 11-minute mark, line-up introductions at the eight-minute mark, anthems at the sixth, game officials introduction at the three-minute mark, starters introduced 30 seconds before tip-off. Tip-off was at 7:30 in the evening. The shoving and the taunting you saw on the news during the lay-up lines happened between the 20^th to 11^th minute mark.

I honestly didn’t take that incident very seriously. It was happening on the other side of the floor, opposite to where I was seated. I just thought that the Gilas players were just checking out the FIBA World Cup Trophy that was displayed just slightly past the midcourt line going to the side of the Australians. Apparently, that shoving and taunting incident was already happening. It only dawned on me that something was going on when I start seeing someone from the Gilas side pulling their teammates trying to cool them down. At my vantage point, it seems like the other 10 or 11 players are just focused on the lay-ups and didn’t care about that mild disturbance. One thing I can only think of at that point was the Japanese loss still stung them somehow and now they’re venting it on the lay-up line.

The game started. The ten players on the floor were laser focus on their task of winning the game. Both teams are known for their physicality. The hard bumps on screens was something that I expected from both teams. The Australians were making their outside shots, something I really fear for the Gilas side because that will blow the game wide open for their opponents. In short, I predicted an Australian win on our home floor. But of course, the true Gilas fan in me is still thinking that somewhere along the way the Australians will mess up their game once again and our troops can take advantage of it, snatching a win from another powerhouse team.

Fouls were pretty scarce in the first half. On an average, Gilas gets into penalty like past halfway point of the quarter. At this level of physicality between the two teams, I thought we’ll have a long night of basketball because of early penalties. But apparently, referees are letting them play on. I vividly remember a play where a referee could’ve at least called a foul; RR Pogoy extended his forearm when an Aussie was running over him on a screen. The referees could’ve called an offensive foul and that Aussie player was asking for one but the referee let them play on. Those thuds and bumps were happening on both sides, and referees are just letting them play on. The announcements that I was making during timeouts were keeping me busy, but if I was just a mere fan watching from that place where I was seated, I would really think that this physicality is going to blow up at some point.

True enough, it blew up. 4:01 mark of the third quarter. Shot clock at 13 seconds. It has been my practice when I call basketball games to write the exact time whenever a signal for flagrant fouls are made. Even though I was not the game court announcer, I still wrote it. It was written beside the note 22,181; that was the number of paying patrons who watched the game. And it was a FIBA record.

Upon turning my head on the play, I already saw a Gilas player down. The next thing I saw, Carl Bryan Cruz running from the bench about to unleash a hammer, Calvin Abueva jumping on the fray, and a sea of Gilas players running towards their side of a basket like a wild mob. Turning my head on the other side, the Australian players wanting to charge as well, but their coaches are blocking their way. Next thing I saw was Luc Longley, his face all red, charging inside the court, about to get in the path of a charging Carl Bryan Cruz. Back on the basket of the Gilas side, I saw a bottle of water being thrown and a chair flying. Then one Australian player emerged from the rumble being assisted on his walk back to their bench; it was Nathan Sobey. Next thing I saw were the three referees, standing just in front of us, the table officials. It was understandable that they just remain there, it is a too big and too dangerous of a task for them to try to stop the melee. The security personnel took charge of securing all the players and the court and to prevent the situation from exploding again.

Only two words came out of my mouth while all those things were happening: holy shit.

A couple of guys from ESPN 5 was seated beside me and I mentioned to them… this thing is going to be all over the world for sure.

True enough.

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Stay tuned for Part Three.

All Sides Of The Story (Part One)

A lot of people have already spoke about this incident, and if you are already fed up with all the talks about that free-for-all that happened in the Philippine Arena, well I am not ashamed to feed you some more unsolicited opinion about this indescribable moment in history of sports.

Why? Because I was there. Unobstructed front row seat in that game. I was a volunteer stadium announcer for that game handling the marketing announcements, and seated beside my mentor Noel Zarate the entire time, including the one when he was announcing 13 ejections on that sequence. That was a record for him in his history of court announcing.

I had no idea that the broadcast TV cameras had a good shot of the table officials while the disqualifying fouls were handed out as the videoboards on the venue made no display of what is being broadcasted on TV in order to avoid escalating the tension on the floor. So here were comments and messages coming in to me left and right asking what happened. All I can say that time was “AUS won by default…” and that was it. At that moment, I was still asking myself, “What the hell happened?”

After a 48-hour mildly interrupted hibernation, and after reading every side of the story… I finally watched the replay of the entire game. I usually watch the games I call immediately as soon as they made available on the internet, but this one was different. I wasn’t ready to watch it when I got home. The image of seeing a five-on-three basketball game and ended prematurely is pretty disturbing to me.

A good whole day sleep was able to make me recover physically, mentally, and emotionally. I got to watch it, and now I’m ready to tell my side of the story about it. Get ready.

FOR ME, it all started when Japan defeated Australia.

You are ranked 10 in the world in FIBA. You were a point away from winning a bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics. For the longest time, you were kicking New Zealand’s ass back in the Oceania zone. You dominated the Asia zone on your arrival during the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup. You were lording it over the first two windows of the qualifiers and wanted to show more dominance by bringing it two NBA players.

And you lost to Japan?

Credit to the Japanese as well; they sure had surprises for the Boomers under their sleeves by the name of Nick Fazekas and Rui Hachimura. But for a team like the Australians to suffer that loss to a team who they thought they can outclass, for sure their egos were really trampled, crushed, and split into pieces.

And they had to take this trip to the Philippines for one more game. A game were I assume they are preparing more than the Japanese game. For Matthew Dellavedova and Thon Maker, they are used to this kind of basketball life; you lose on the road, move on to the next game and stop thinking about it. That is their NBA life. But for the others, we’re not quite sure.

So you come to the Philippines with that crushed ego, needing to regain that sense of superiority somehow someway. So where do they turn to get that feeling and show that dominant side they lost back in Tokyo?

The floor decals.

I was present in the venue with the SBP officials the day before the game holding a dry run in preparation for tomorrow’s game. Yes, we hold a rehearsal for a game… sounds weird, but it is true. The protocols, the timing, the broadcast, the flow of the game, the entertainment; those things are all rehearsed on that day, so when the actual game comes and we broadcast it to the whole world, it would be very pleasing to watch. Local players posed as Gilas and the Boomers playing on the same floor where the actual players will play, including those now famous decals. Zero players slipped on those floor decals on that two quarters of play. We had to stop the dry run to give way to the scheduled practice of the Boomers. Things got pretty ridiculous from then on.

They wanted everyone to leave the floor, including the local organizing committee (which I am included) as they invoked that it was a closed-door practice and we understood that, and we obliged. Before we left, they spotted the camera set up at the top of the baskets, and asked them to be removed. I don’t know what their reason was but whatever it is it was pretty stupid. Perhaps some time constraints, the Australians agreed to have the lenses be covered. And we went off the floor and had more basketball conversations in the rooms.

When everyone was allowed to enter the floor again and the Boomers made themselves available to the media, one thing was obviously missing on the floor… the decals. When the Australian players left the floor, here I saw the SBP officials present pretty much disgusted with what the Boomers did… they had those floor decals removed with no permission whatsoever. Sought for explanation on the reason, the Australians said that it was “slippery”. Whatever shoe they’re wearing, I guess they have to throw it away because they were the only ones who complained about it. Inspecting the floor after that removed decal, it is now more prone to injury because it is sticky. And it caused permanent damage to the floor. One SBP official said to me that the Australians made a threat of not playing in the game if the decals were returned the next day. Our collective initial response was, “e di good! Panalo tayo!” One thing though, the SBP officials present on the venue asked the media and everyone else not to release the story about the decals until further approval.

Well, the big bosses of SBP were the ones who revealed that fiasco several hours later. And sure enough, big bosses over at the Australian basketball federation apologized as well. Doesn’t matter what kind of move that apology was, but to me it was a sign that the team really felt that TKO against Japan and they are venting their frustration upon everything that they see here in the Philippines. I was expecting an Australian win in this game, but kept the thought that if that low probability that Gilas will win that match, tatawanan ko talaga Australia… because of what they did.

And then comes the day… July 2, 2018. Game day.

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Stay tuned for Part Two.

This Week in Philippine Sports: UNLEASH!

Man, did we see a lot of revelations this past week.

Monday we saw how Generika-Ayala Lifesavers upset the Foton Tornadoes Blue Energy in the PSL Invitationals, thanks to their rejuvenated offense. Their defense were as lethal as ever as everybody is still mopping the floor with their bodies and jerseys, but the spring in the jump of Patty Orendain was surreal. If you think it's just a somehow exaggerated comparison on a person who jumps really, really high, then you got to see that woman jump and spike that volleyball really close so we can have that agreement that it is not an overreaction.

But how about Bang Pineda... it only took her like five sets in total this conference to complete the transition from a libero to a full-blown attacker. Although she is now a designated hitter, she never left her past life on the court behind. She and Kath Arado may form a sign on their side of the court that says "BAWAL BUMAGSAK ANG BOLA DITO!" whenever she's on the back row. On the front, her variety of attacks just hurt that Foton team that is suffering from a serious lack of floor defense.

One more thing before I move past the PSL... I have no idea how we are going to crown a Rookie of the Year or Rookie of the Conference or whatever, but the front-runner on that rookie award thing as of today must be Gyra Barroga. On her very first PSL match, she carried Cocolife's offense just when they were about to blow another set against UE. Defense paid high premium on her on their second match against Sta. Lucia, but she still managed to make some points. Thanks to her and to a bunch of underrated attackers, a lot won't be surprised if the asset managers be able to squeak in to the semifinals.

Since this blog has been my outlet for anything Gilas and FIBA, this post won't be done without something to talk about Gilas. I came home excited to see how Gilas will dismantle Chinese-Taipei (yes, there was no doubt in my mind that we will take home the victory) in their game... and it happened via two notable performances.

1) June Mar Fajardo - don't look now Asia, but PHI is about to release "The Kraken". As the qualifiers progress, his game in the international play progresses as well. Increased point output... increased physical presence down low... increased confidence in his tricks as well, making Tseng Wen Ting victim number two on his fake pass. Keep it up, abai!

2) Terrence Romeo - my tweet after the game said it best... 25 minutes, 14 points, six assists, ZERO turnovers. Jayson Castro might have another FIBA Asia Cup in him (that is on 2021) but it looks like Bro is ready to take over as soon as now.

Of course there all the old reliables... Andray Blatche's skill set, Blur's playmaking, Gabe Norwood's defense, coach Chot Reyes' profanities (sorry coach, the TV camera caught you cursing in tagalog which was pretty obvious when one lip reads it, but still an old reliable way to wake our troops up), and Kuya Bong Tulabot.

I'll see you all in Philippine Arena on Monday!!!

After Two Years...

Here I am making another attempt to write regularly in my blog. I hope it turns out well for several reasons:

1) Because of this new gadget that I have! I bought a Chinese brand tablet PC that has a keyboard and a stylus pen and it has been really performing well according to my expectations. Accessibility to write once my floodgate of ideas open will not be an issue anymore, thanks to this Chinese thing! If you want to know more, ask me about it personally and I will not write about it.

2) My increased involvement in sports today more than ever. It all started last year; from a garbage basketball court announcer to a lesser garbage basketball and volleyball court announcer today, and doing some TV gigs as well. After all, this was supposed to be a sports blog, and this is now the perfect opportunity for me to write about it.

Armed with these two reasons (and a bit of boredom), I can dust off this site and be able to write again semi-regularly (praying for motivation, discipline, and commitment) and tell the few readers of this site of some stories I get to encounter. In order for me to be consistent though, I have to keep in mind some things that I will not do in my return to writing:

1) Disregard the length of the post. Doesn't matter if it is a 100-word thought or a thousand word rant. As long as it is on my mind, I have to write it. This is a reason why I fail to write in the past years because I was too concerned with the length.

2) I won't call out anybody for their lack of effort or their bad games here. I now have the means to tell them myself in a way they would really appreciate it and find it more meaningful than writing it here. Unless it is something or someone that I couldn't really reach, or if it is something that is really out of logic or reason, I won't spill my criticism here.

And since it is past 12 in the morning already, I have to cut it here. If I abide to these guidelines, for sure I would be able to write something this week. And speaking of this week, the PBA will be on a break to give way to the third FIBA World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, Gilas will visit Chinese-Taipei on Friday, rare PSL Monday action, and on Tuesday and Thursday as well.

I know there are a lot more sports that will happen this week but these are the things that I will have on my plate. See ya!

THIS IS ALL ABOUT GILAS 5.0... I PROMISE...

...but it will all start with this ridiculous draft that is going on. It is weird in every single way. It is confusing. It is baffling. It is so JaVale McGee-ish.

Yeah, at first it was a bright idea coming from Mr. Uytengsu that the Gilas 4.5 (Mac Belo and co.) dudes are subjected to a special draft. But that's because of consideration that the past Gilas players (Jayson Castro and co.) won't play in FIBA anymore. That Gilas will all stick to the 4.5 guys from here on. That is good! Because pulling them out every time the FIBA window comes would be as easy as a Japeth Aguilar slam dunk.

Enter Coach Chot Reyes... a man that we can say huli ang kiliti ng PBA Board of Governors. He managed each team to commit a player to the national team. And so, the past Gilas are suddenly back in the picture! Now what happens to the Gilas 4.5? They're now true neutral professional basketball players. Gilas 4.5 is now gone, Mac Belo and company are now past Gilas players too...

...at least in my eyes... or perhaps in yours as well.

So the special draft would now be as pointless as hell since everybody has a chance to be a part of the pool. But the PBA said...

"One player per team plus the Gilas 4.5 is equal to the 24-man pool for the specific FIBA window."

And they're going to push through with it. And it's quite nuts. Look...

1) The best (and perhaps the only… sorry Greg.) pure big man and the best shooter in the league right now is playing for the same team. Those are two most important ingredients for a succesfull FIBA basketball team. Following the current PBA guidelines, June Mar Fajardo might be bumped in favor of Fonzo Gotladera or Marcio Lassiter might be bumped in favor of Kevin Ferrer (YIKES!).

2) The abundance of world-class caliber guards in the Philippines right now:  Jayson Castro (best PG in Asia but no MVP award in his own league), LA Tenorio, Terrence Romeo, Paul Lee, Kiefer Ravena. Those should be automatic shoo-ins in the pool. If you like to insert the Gilas 4.5 point guards here already, then you'll have Jio Jalalon and Mike Tolomia. Yeah, those are two fantastic guys leading their respective college teams... but would you rather prioritize these guards first before the two?

*Mark Barroca - just needs a smart coach.
*Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Banchero, and Stan Pringle - eligibility issues.
*RR Garcia - game improved upon transfer to Star.
*Scottie Thompson - becomes a ghost every time the ball is up for a rebound and suddenly becomes human again and grabs that rebound.
*and others I forgot to mention… you might have somebody else included in here.

If coach Chot got fed up with these tons of choices, he might end up calling Jimmy Alapag again... that is a possibility!

3) Mac Belo, Russel Escoto, Arnold Van Opstal, and Carl Bryan Cruz were the frontliners of that team. And they are quite the same height as Gabe Norwood, BR Parks, Troy Rosario, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Jared Dillinger, JC Intal, Jordan Clarkson, Calvin Abueva (the smallest in the mentioned players), and Japeth Aguilar (the tallest). Get them together in a pool and Belo et.al. will have to play as wing guys too, for they will have no business staying in the shaded lane banging bodies with Andrew Bogut, David Andersen, Aron Baynes, Isaac Fotu and more (Hello FIBA Oceania!).

4) The naturalized guy. Two spots; one for Andray, one for the other guy. I'd pick Liam McMorrow (the Barako Bull import) if I were to pick one right now. But for sure they'll find somebody else.

And to add more wreckage to that special draft, which already happened in extremely ridiculous circumstances (Read some news. Read @musongcastillo tweets on Twitter. Do it RIGHT NOW!), those 12 guys in the special draft are not surefire first rounders if they are included in the normal draft. Since the special draft already happened, some of the would-be first-rounders on Sunday's draft will appear that they doesn't deserve to be picked in the first round, and some of the would-be second-rounders perhaps would appear that they aren't ready for the big league yet. It's a weak draft more weakend by the special draft.

Like I promised... this is a Gilas 5.0 item. So this must be the perfect opportunity for me to explain the perfect solution (for me) regarding the Gilas situation and the new FIBA format. The compound word that I have been shouting on Twitter all year long... the MEGAPOOL!

What is the MEGAPOOL (it is so intense that it should be written in all caps all the time)?

The MEGAPOOL will consist of the best eligible Filipino Basketball players playing in and out of the PBA (Hello Kiefer! Hello Kobe! Hello Jordan! Hello other guys that were signed by the SBP!). The number? I'm thinking of 48 guys. Yes! FOUR TEAMS! All of the players who are included in the MEGAPOOL are required to join once-a-week practices either as the actual player practicing or the player observing. It's like this week, 24 guys will be practicing, the other 24 will be observing, taking notes, studying the game plan (I think these ways will help a lot in improving a player's basketball IQ), etc. The next week, the 24 guys that observed last week will be the players, and the other 24 will be observing. Their only reason not to attend the weekly practice/observation sessions should be playing overseas, or legitimately injured. Players who'll refuse to play for flag or play sick to avoid national team duties should be ashamed of themselves, have their GAB licenses revoked, and get an earful of curses from President Duterte.

When the FIBA window period comes, the 24-man pool required by FIBA will be composed by the players from the eliminated teams of the on-going season of the PBA and others available guys that are overseas, of course including the naturalized guy or an NBA guy if possible. Upon checking FIBA's website, the windows dates are already available, and these are the possible composition of the team with these dates!

*20-28 November 2017 - 2017-18 PBA season should start after this window. The upcoming 2016-17 PBA season should end by the first week of September to give way to the players. Best Pinoy players are all available.

*19-27 February 2018 - End of the Philippine Cup. Only the semi-finalists of that conference won't be available. But that won't be a problem because we have a MEGAPOOL!

*25 June-3 July 2018 - End of the Invitational Cup (more of this on my next column). Only the semi-finalists of that conference won't be available. Jordan Clarkson is available, because the Lakers won't reach the finals that year for sure, and in addition, we have the MEGAPOOL!

*10-18 September 2018 - End of the Fiesta Cup (more of this on my next column). Same thing as the previous window, but the 2018-19 PBA Season should start early or immediately after this window with the same Fiesta Cup because the next window would be on...

*26 November-4 December 2018 - End of the 2018-19 Fiesta Cup. Same thing as the previous window, but no Jordan Clarkson, but we have a MEGAPOOL!

*18-28 February 2019 - 2018-19 Philippine Cup pre-playoffs. Kung kailan huling window na, dun pa tumama sa gitna. Pero okay lang kasi we have a MEGAPOOL! But admittedly, this is the most difficult window to build a team among the present window.

By the last week of June, the 2018-19 PBA Season should be done because...

*September 2019 - 2019 FIBA World Cup; at stake: top Asia Finisher (not including Australia or New Zealand) will directly qualify for the Olympics.

Is this solid planning or what? But, like what I told you in the title, this item is all about Gilas 5.0...

Next column, PBA, in the wonderful words of Bill Goldberg... "YOU'RE NEXT!"  

MEGAPOOL!!!!!!!!!!!

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follow the writer on Twitter and Instagram: @sportscastengr... MEGAPOOL!!!!!!!!!

T Minus 50 Days: I Can Help!

Although... what kind of help does Gilas needs that will give them a surefire shot at the Gold in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship... with only 50 days to go?

As of this day, my fearless forecast is that we don't have a shot at anything... we may not even make it to the knockout round... hell, we might not even make it to the second round. We will lose to India!

More hell... we still don't have a team right now!

Players are backing down one by one that it may come to a point that we'll be sending an all-bench team come the Asian Championships. Imagine Jerwin Gaco in a white and blue Nike Gilas jersey. That would be awesome, right?

From the various reasons players have given; from an injured foot to an injured finger; from a US trip to a European trip to wherever in the world Marcio Lassiter is going; from a questioned release by his pro-ball team (when is Andray Blatche set to arrive? UPDATE: Andray Blatche is here!) to a question of eligibility (still can't believe Greg Slaughter wasn't a part of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship line-up... but really, are we gonna place Greg in there right now???). The most valid reason that probably covers the entire excuses of the others who begged off from the pool... the mother of all reasons belonged to LA Tenorio.

He said he is way out of form to join the team since he has been playing non-stop since 2012. He'll be off-form for the national team, and he'll be off-form for a Coach Tim Cone-led Barangay Ginebra. He's probably too tired of hearing fans blame him for the miseries of Ginebra (which I really, truly, disagree... seriously!) that's why begging off was a major consideration.

But what is LA Tenorio talking about? Just look at this list...

*Iran - October / November / December to April / May / June
*Japan - October to May
*South Korea - October to April
*Jordan - February to April
*China - November to March
*Philippines - October to July

These are the schedules of the professional leagues of some of our big opponents come the Asian Championships.

Let me repeat that one for the PBA... October to July.

The NBA has their season from November to June and they are even planning it to cut the season much shorter. While the PBA... October to July... and teams are playing two to three games a week... aba matinde!

No wonder players will be too weary or too tired to play some more for the National cause. Let's face it, they're only humans. We can say everytime "para sa bayan naman ito e..." or "Yung ibang tao dyan willing na willing maglaro para sa bandila, pero kayo binibigyan ng pagkakataon umaayaw pa kayo?" but at the end of the day they can only do so much. Even though their heart are still flaming for the desire to play for flag, their body can only take so much. They are tired. LA was right.

And who is the one to blame?

I'd rather not blame. I made this entry to be a part of the solution and not the problem. Look at the title... I can help! I will help the national team program! I will offer a solution that will avoid these kind of circumstances. And these circumstances such as plantar fasciitis, emergency trip to Europe, wear and tear, came from one problem... this crazy ass schedule!

So if I was the Lee Kuan Yew or Admiral General Aladeen of Philippine basketball, here's what I would do...

Let's switch back the two-conference format!

A Noli Eala-inspired two-conference format; one for All-Filipino and one import-laden conference.

Both conference will bear the same tournament format;

1. 16 games per elimination round. No play-off games whatsoever in case of ties. That makes it a minimum of 32 games per season each team. Blackwater played 33 games this 2014-15 season.

2. Playoffs will be in a 3-7-7 format; Quarters at best-of-three, Semis and Finals at best-of-seven. In this way, series would be longer (which more fans crave for, including me) specially for rival teams such as Ginebra and Purefoods or Talk 'n Text and San Miguel or Rain or Shine and whoever they're up against. You know that teams will give quality series no matter who are they (remember 2011 Philippine Cup Powerade Tigers?) and who are they against (remember 2011 Philippine Cup B-Meg Llamados?). A maximum of 17 games will be played by a team, making it 34 if they make it deep in both conferences. A maximum of 67 games every year. Rain or Shine played 63 games this year.

And another thing... the reason they switched back to a three-conference format is because of the profitability of the play-off games. So here we are! Reduce the number of conferences and increase the games of the play-offs. We can even make the Quarterfinals a best-of-five and the maximum number of games will be at 71. Rain or Shine could have played 80 games this year.

3. The Asian Imports was a thing of beauty. It was the best idea... ever! It's just so unfortunate that other teams chose not to utilize it and one team misutilized their Asian Import (Hello Sanchir!). Who would've thought that Japanese fans will drive into Araneta Coliseum with banners cheering for their player in a Philippine basketball stage? The purpose was met! Bring in some foreign fans! Mission accomplished! Seiya Ando brought in some fans. Michel Madanly brought in his family and thinks of settling here. The possibilities are endless, and if the office guys in the PBA are worrying about profit, this is the solution! Bring in some Asian imports to bring in some Asian fans! Voila! Just imagine if only Kim Kang Kong... ESTE I mean, Kim Ji Wan (hindi ko sinasadya Ginebra fans... hindi ko sinasadya.) was brought in earlier... then the wings of the news will fly and three or four games later the Koreans that you see everywhere in this country are in Araneta Coliseum watching their very own fellow play basketball. Awesome!

But the problem was last time, the height restriction for the imports was so low. That's why teams like Rain or Shine and Alaska chose not to use Asian imports because they do not need another guard. To solve that problem and to not totally erase the presence of the totally foreign imports...

*13 feet combined height limit for imports of the upper eight teams of the Philippine Cup.
*13 feet and 6 inches combined height limit for imports of the lower four teams of the Philippine Cup.
*When hiring two imports, one import should be an Asian import

If a team is still uninterested to hire an Asian import, they can utilize that height limit solely for a seven-foot foreign import.

Get this. A team can hire a 7-footer foreigner and a 6'6" guard/forward Asian import, or vice-versa. Blackwater can hire Hamed Haddadi and AZ Reid if they belong to the bottom four of the Philippine Cup. Or if Ginebra belonged to the upper eight of the Philippine Cup, they can hire Fadi El-Khatib and Marqus Blakely. The possibilities are endless! Just the thought of it is making me drool in my laptop.

So... combining all of this starting next season...

*The elimination will have a total of 96 games (if my math is correct). If a minimum of 9 games is played every week, in 10 weeks the elimination is over.
*If playoffs will be played every other day, a maximum of 5 weeks will be consumed.
*Multiply it for two conferences. 30 weeks.
*Throw in 2 weeks of mid-season break, or for All-Star event. 32 weeks.

That is 20 weeks of rest and preparation for international competitions. Four to five months of rest and preparation for overseas battle. 140 days of everything you need to do instead of 50. This without compromising the financial needs of the professional league.

See... I can help!


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Follow the writer on Twitter and Instagram: sportscastengr

T minus 87 Days: The 2015 FIBA Asia Championship

After that historic win against Senegal, what's next? Are we forever qualified with all the major international basketball competitions?

That's what I wish, but two things crossed my thoughts; one, on basketball #WalangForever, and two, we're just getting started. It's hard to get on top, but it's harder to stay on top.

It's a nice feeling that in Asia, this little proud country of ours are now considered as a powerhouse in the game of basketball. Other countries are now wary of the talents the Filipinos have in basketball. We were the prey before but now we are the predators. We were the dark horses before, but now we are legitimate contenders. Validated by our mighty showing in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Iran was lucky to have Egypt on their group while South Korea didn't win a thing. Gilas, meanwhile, ate Croatia's brain, managed to give the Greeks a kick in the balls, gave Argentina a heart attack, made Puerto Rico walk in their knees, and finally destroyed Senegal before leaving Spain.

That was a nice trip back down to memory lane.

But it's 2015 already. Where are we now?

Last night's draw reminded us how "lucky" we are right now. That "lucky" is short for very, very, very, very, very, very, very lucky. That one "very" represents the fact that Gilas will have a field day on it's road to the quarterfinals. They have a very large margin of error to work on to when it comes to get the feel of the entire tournament, get their groove, and come out in the most important matches down the road as the powerhouse everyone expected them to be.

The multiple "very" represents the fact that Gilas doesn't have a team yet.

So to combine everything, this is what the statement would look like...

"They have a very large margin of error to work on to when it comes to get the feel of the entire tournament, get their groove, and come out in the most important matches down the road as the powerhouse everyone expected them to be, even though Gilas doesn't even have a pool of players yet."

Aren't you alarmed by this?

Imagine if we had Lebanon, Qatar, and Kazakhstan in Group B, just switching teams from Group D... at this rate, we might even say goodbye in the first round. The Kazakhs are playing with the Europeans, the core of the Lebanese team has been there for a decade and seemingly hasn't lost a beat up to now, and the man-eating monsters of Qatar. 87 days to go and we don't have a team yet. Who will we send to face them, the Blackwater Elite?

That's why we are very, very, very, very, very, very, very lucky. The darkhorses will kill each other up until the second round. Which leads me to my projections.

Group A has Iran, Japan, Malaysia, and the South Asian qualifier which we will know by next weekend. As of this day, Japan has the spotlight of this group because the country is still suspended by FIBA. However, the Japanese Basketball Association were allowed to resume international basketball activities, including this upcoming Asian Championships. News has it that the suspension will be lifted by August. With Japan getting their shit together, I guess it's time for us to say goodbye to the basketball league that has the most awesome name in the planet... the BJ-League.

Group B has Philippines, Kuwait, Palestine, and the winner between Hong Kong and Mongolia. I will put my money on Mongolia, so Gilas and all of the Gilas fans can say hello once again to their favorite Asian import, SANCHIR!!!

Group C has South Korea, China, Jordan, and Singapore. South Korea might be bringing a new naturalized player this year, while China must be past the middle phase of their rebuilding process. This is Jordan's third year with Rajko Toroman. And Singapore, welcome to the "Group Of Death".

Group D has Taiwan, Qatar, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan. This is the most even and most exciting group FIBA Asia has made in the history of FIBA Asia. All four teams are equally matched and equally capable to advance in the quarterfinals. Darkhorses are put together in one group. How do you like that?

But with my first projections at T minus 87 days, I had Taiwan being eliminated in the first round. Taiwan doesn't have a good history with Middle East teams. China will beat Korea in the preliminaries owing to the experience gained by the young players of China (Guo Ailun, Zuo Pheng, Wang Zhelin), Yi Jianlian joining the party, and the avoidance of fielding old men in the national team and those young guys will just go to that old man and watch them do his thing. Hello Wang Zhizhi!

Iran and Philippines are expected to past through the quarterfinals easily, with Iran beating Gilas in the second round by a margin of 43 points. Come on! Those Iranians have been playing together for 10 years and they'll face a team that was made in 10 weeks. What are we, NBA Players?

That's why in my current projections, Gilas will reach as far as the semifinals but ultimately bowing out to the Koreans in the 3rd place match. We'll get beat by the Koreans not because of the curse, but with just the absence of preparation that we have now. We won't even play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year.

Iran will be winning it all once again, but my further, farther projection says this will be the last championship that this core of Haddadi, Bahrami, and Kamrani will win. They won't win the 2017 FIBA Asia Championship.

A lot of things can happen in 87 days. My projections are guaranteed to change. But for Gilas, there is not a lot of preparation that they can do in those 87 days.

"Amat Victoria Curam. Victory Loves Preparation." - Harry McKenna's Gun, The Mechanic, 2011

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