Don’t stop believing

The Philippines embark on another mission today in our quest to regain respect in the sport we are so crazy about, this time in Tianjin, China.

Brandishing our so-called best weapons yet from the pro ranks, we have come full circle in this quest that began in 1990 also in China when we first used professional basketball players to don our national colors. From Beijing to Tianjin, from the Jaworski-led squad to the Yeng Guiao-ocached team.

From second place to what?

That is the question.

Frankly, I am not honestly excited about our chances. But not being excited does not mean a state of hopelessness.

In Beijing, we had China to worry about. And then there were the Japanese and the Koreans too. But we knew then there was only China that separates us back to the prized respectability in Asia.

Today, there is Iran, Jordan, Lebanon. Teams that used to be so naïve about basketball. In fact, when we faced Kuwait in 1990, the Kuwaiti team couldn’t even buy the right basketball stuff. They ridiculously wore tennis shorts with pockets. Now, even Kuwait can give us a ridiculous scare.

There is also the traditional threats like Japan and Korea—teams who were as mechanical as robots before but as agile and fast as anyone now we are even converted into big fans of their Korea novelas with basketball plots. There is Kazakhstan too.

And yes, lest we forget, there is China.

In 1990, the top team goes to the worlds but we still missed out.

This year, the top three will advance to the worlds, but it looks like we only have a Chinaman’s chance of making it. Imagine the odds.

It will make for a great take off that we will meet Sri Lanka today, and we should be expected to win this one easily even by a margin of 50. That will depend on how merciless we can get even with the lowliest of the competition. Kobe Bryant wore the Black Mamba gameface at the start of the playoffs and you can read from his face that he will not let down his guards even if he is ahead by a hundred points.

We meet Japan tomorrow and that will be the first real test.

Now, are we ready for the opposition in Tianjin? For one, James Yap, our top gunner, is bleeding from the death of her mother-in-law President Cory and should be rusty and sleepless. All the energy probably sapped from the highly emotional loss. Will he be ready for war? Remember that the late President Cory reminded him before her death to honor his commitment to the flag no matter what happens. Will James be ready to fight for the country like her late Mom Cory?

The rest of the team may now have been well rested compared to the tired team we sent to the recent Jones Cup. They may be better and hopefully sharper now. Will they be ready to die for the country too?

Obviously, there are lots of questions. I can only imagine how hard it is to be a part of this team and to be up to the expectations of a country bleeding for redemption in the sport second only to politics in terms of popularity here. As a nation, we also have a duty for this team. It’s like a social contract. They play for the Filipino people, the Filipino people must support them in return.

We cannot choose our team. We cannot choose Kobe and Team USA to fight for us. These are our guys.

We can only give back one thing—our faith.

Don’t stop believing.