Bumpy long road to the top

AS THE PHILIPPINE men’s basketball team basks in the afterglow of their triumphant return to the international stage after qualifying for the Fiba World Cup following their 86-79 conquest of South Korea in the semi-finals of the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship last Saturday, basketball fans remember the team’s humble beginnings.

The PH team, also known as Gilas Pilipinas, struggled in the early stages before they reached their lofty stature.

The original team, Gilas 1, was formed not long after the conclusion of the power-struggle between the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) and the Basketball Association of the Philippines. It was composed of collegiate standouts with the goal of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.

Bannering that team were Chris Tiu, JV Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Jason Ballesteros and Cebu’s own, Greg Slaughter, to name a few. The only holdover from that team to the current edition of the Gilas is Japeth Aguilar. Their coach was Rajko Toroman, the Serbian tactician who had previously steered Iran to the Asian title and a berth in the Fiba World Championships.

The SBP then tapped Marcus Douthit, a former draftee of the Los Angeles Lakers who was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007 and had stints in the NBA Developmental League and in professional leagues in Belgium, Turkey, Russia, South Korea and China, to be its naturalized player.

In spite of rigorous preparations, including participation in the PBA, the Jones Cup in Taiwan, the Dubai International Basketball Championship in addition to an exhibition match with an NBA all-star team that included Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose and James Harden, the original Gilas squad failed in its 2010 Asian Games bid when they got eliminated in quarterfinals by perennial tormentor, South Korea.

Then, in the all-important 2011 Fiba Asia Championships, they made it all the way to the semifinals for the first time since 1987 but were thwarted by eventual runner-up, Jordan. Korea then reprised their role as Filipino heartbreakers as they denied the Gilas a berth in the Olympic qualifiers with another win in the bronze medal game.

After that deflating result, the SBP decided to rebuild the national team. Toroman was replaced by Talk N Text head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes.

Reyes chose PBA stars for the 2012 Jones Cup, tapping Jason Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, Sonny Thoss, L.A. Tenorio, Mac Baracael, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Enrico Villanueva, Gary David, and Sol Mercado alongside Douthit and former San Beda gunner Garvo Lanete. The team immediately found success as they won the Jones Cup with Tenorio winning the MVP award after his heroics in the final game against the United States.

From a large pool of candidates, Reyes announced their final roster with Tenorio, Fonacier, Castro, de Ocampo, Chan, Norwood, David and Douthit making it back from the previous team. The new faces were Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo, Jimmy Alapag, Marc Pingris and Aguilar.

The fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine Coast Guard patrol in May derailed the team’s bid to defend its Jones Cup crown. This prompted the SBP to send the Gilas squad to Lithuania for a training camp that was followed by a 10-day camp in New Zealand under the supervision of the Tall Blacks’ national coach, Tab Baldwin. / Correspondent Jonas Panerio and Managing Editor Ares P. Gutierrez