Fiba-Asia Championships: Jordan knocks Team Pilipinas out in their quarterfinal matchup

Posted by Jaemark Tordecilla on August 15, 2009 at 04:42 | Comments (8)

The late, great David Halberstam had an awesome quote from Hall of Fame forward Julius Erving about professionalism: “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them.”

I had been dreading to write about Team Pilipinas’ 81-70 loss to Jordan in the Fiba-Asia knockout quarterfinals since the end of the game. Part of it is because of the way it went down; it was a very winnable game that could have gone our way had the ball bounced a bit differently, and losses like that are particularly hard to swallow. Another part is because it would feel like a eulogy, when in fact it shouldn’t; there are two more classification games remaining, and Team Pilipinas could still salvage fifth place, which would be our best placing in this tournament in two decades. I especially wanted to steer clear of the useless ‘what if’ exercise – what if Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams hadn’t gotten injured, what if this team had six weeks instead of three weeks to train, what if Japeth Aguilar hadn’t gotten hurt at the start of the tournament, etc. Especially since the tournament isn’t over yet.

So I guess I’ll just talk about the game. I usually am not a fan of the boxscore to tell the story of the game – Rockets GM Daryl Morey, the NBA’s foremost proponent of statistical analysis, detests the boxscore – but in the case of this game, the boxscore tells pretty much the whole story. That is, Team Pilipinas got killed by Jordan off the offensive boards, giving up 17 which led to 17 extra possessions for them. The boxscore only shows that Jordan shot a blistering 55% from 2-point range, but I suspect that if you took away second-chance opportunities, that number would be closer to the 38% that we shot from inside the arc. Otherwise, the team did a good job – they had four more three-pointers than Jordan (although the 12 threes made were 2 to 3 fewer than Team Pilipinas has been making the past few games) and limited their turnovers to just 12 (Jordan had 11). Gabe Norwood and Jared Dillinger, in particular, played like heroes.

But rebounding was such a problem, especially with our lack of quickness and athleticism in the frontcourt, that the Team Pilipinas guards had to drop back to help out on the boards to gang-rebound (James Yap and Dillinger led the team in caroms). It’s a great adjustment, but it affected our balance that it made it easier for Jordan to get back on defense to prevent the team from getting fast breaks.

Earlier in the tournament, after the game versus Chinese Taipei, I expressed my worries about the lack of athleticism in the frontcourt for the Philippine team. My exact words:

I’m worried now about our big men, not necessarily their effort (I know they’re trying their best), but their ability. With Aguilar struggling, Kelly Williams out, and Ranidel left off the team, there’s just no athleticism in the frontcourt apart from Raymundo. We always knew that we’re going to execute offense better, and games like this show that we’re going to shoot well from time to time. But we can’t do anything about our unathletic big guys. Pucha, paano mo papagalawin si Thoss na parang hindi mabigat yung bayag niya? Hindi naman na-ko-coach yun.

It has been the biggest problem for the team all tournament, although it’ll be buried in the media behind stories of how we don’t have enough three-point shooting. Check out this boxscore then of the Korea-Lebanon match and note that Team Pilipinas made more threes than either of those teams, at only a shade lower clip than the Koreans. Of course, the box score doesn't tell the whole story, but you get the point.

Can we improve on our shooting? Sure. But except for the Korea game, it’s not the reason we’ve been losing.

Anyway, I included the Dr. J (not Andy Jao) quote above not just for myself but for the Team Pilipinas players, who will go up against Qatar this afternoon at 2 PM. They’ve taken their lumps all over the place, but this corner is proud of them and the way they’ve played, considering the circumstances. They may not feel like going out there after this big loss, but I trust that when the game tips off, they’ll be there playing their hearts out and making us proud.

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Tags: Basketball, Gabe Norwood, James Yap, Powerade Team Pilipinas National Basketball Team, Willie Miller

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Fiba-Asia Championships: Team Pilipinas ends its campaign with back-to-back losses
So, Filipino basketball fan: how do you prefer your heart to be broken? Do you prefer your team to play listlessly, running around like headless chickens, and being dazed and confused for 40 minutes, as Team Pilipinas did Saturday against Qatar, where

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#1 Jerby on 2009-08-15 19:18 (Reply)

First I want the PBA to know that if nobody makes an anti PBA reform movement, I will start it myself. Gahaman, ganid, makasarili, that's what the PBA is. It sucked Rico M. and J. Aguilar and who knows who else into their pit of self serving money venture. Those who know are beginning to realize that the PBA is almost synonymous with the old BAP. It has stopped contributing to the development of Philippine basketball. It has to end before it finally sucks out the last breath of basketball life from this country.
However all is not lost. The PBA as well as the other basketball leagues must stop thinking about themselves and think of the country first. We lost Japeth to Guiao and the PBA ,it seems like we will lose Fajardo because his school is too greedy to let him play for the country. We can can only get better if we start looking outward and stop becoming a pariah of basketball. We have skills and given the right program we will excel. We might not become the worlds best but we can be one of the best in the world. We can do this by....
1.) Creating an SBP arm who's chief task is to find schools in countries with good basketball programs like the U.S., Lithuania, Croatia etc that can include young tall Filipino players in their High School and College basketball teams. I'm sorry La Salle - UST fans, what's happening on your turf reeks of the PBA already, basketball talents will be wasted if they play in the UAAP and the NCAA..that's just my viewpoint.
2) If the PBA wants to help the country and in the process improve their image among Filipinos, they should..
A) Stick to the one conference format that is schedule to accommodate international games for the National team.
B) To finally, to finally, to finally use FIBA rules !
C) Bring in foreign coaches, I'm sorry Yeng Guiao you don't sound patriotic at all, instead you got greediness and protectionist stamped on your forehead. We need to revamp the way we play the game. PBA is soooo backward now.
D.) Stop emulating the NBA, that will not work for us, instead look at Argentina, Lithuania, Croatia and the European Leagues, they have proven that their leagues can beat NBA players.
E.) Make the PBA like the European League. . We can have the same PBA format but with an open policy with regards to Asian players. Let the best of asia play here, in an instant PBA's market will reach Lebanon, Jordan, Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Taiwan etc. OMG! Jesus! Can't the PBA see the huge possibility here?!!! Broadcasts, merchandise, advertising.. I don't get it as to why they don't do this. At the same time this scheme will alleviate the basketball standards of our players.
3. Support the the SBP- SMART GILAS team whole heartedly. Give them international exposure, give them the best players this country can produce, let us make them the real stars of Philippine basketball.
To those people insisting that we look at other sports I say let's go do it but let us not force ourselves on others. I don't care if we lose against other countries , important thing is we are enjoying the game. In the first place that is what it’s all about. It's a game it's supposed to be enjoyed. What is infuriating though is to finish at the rear end when we know we could have done it better if not for self-interests of some quarters. For now the Pinoys love basketball, so why be a cry-baby about it? If basketball is doing well, it is not because the government is supporting it, it is because a lot of people are throwing their support to the sport. Indeed basketball is this country's passion.
Just my two cents.
Peace , love and pank rak from Dulag, Leyte

#2 dave on 2009-08-16 00:13 (Reply)

you forgot one tiny detail to write about sir...

you forgot to write about kerby raymundo's stupid plays that killed us the ENTIRE TOURNAMENT. my gosh, why is yeng guiao sticking with him! i know he's a big guy we can rely on underneath, and he can indeed score, but come on, no good game for the entire tournament? he only drives, throws bricks, shoots rim-out threes, passes to nobody and plays with HEART -- heart to satisfy his own scoring stats! dillinger and norwood's plays showed just how much heart team pilipinas lacked in that jordan game. it was frustrating seeing willie miller and kerby raymundo squander the game in the dying moments.

i am proud of team pilipinas for making it this far in the FIBA tournament, but come on, kerby raymundo, willie miller (even if he did nail that game winner) and yeng guiao must re-evaluate their motivation for playing/participating in the national team. nakakahiya ang performance! dillinger and norwood, who are definitely less filipino than them; showed more filipino spirit.

kerby, pang pba ka lang. huwag ka na umasang magiging "kevin garnett-ish" ka!

ps. very enjoyable blog sir. :) good job

#2.1 jaemark on 2009-08-16 02:38 (Reply)

it's too easy to blame kerby raymundo and willie miller for making mistakes on offense. was it frustrating? hell yes. was it the reason we lost games? No.

#3 concernedcitizen on 2009-08-17 12:40 (Reply)

More shooters please. I remember teams like Malayisa back in the 90s who simply shot their way to victories. Drive in-kick out-drive in-kick out hanggang may opening for shooters. Simple.

We cannot compete with other teams pagdating sa frontcourt. Face facts na lang tayo na talo tayo sa height, heft and athleticism. Again see earlier paragraph. Paging Salvacion, Macapagal, Tugade, Hontiveros etc. etc.

Pagdating sa defense, it is a matter of will. You have to want it. I can forgive yung unfamiliarity ng mga players sa isa't-isa or even yung execution ng plays. But poor defense?

Ang daming blocking fouls dahil ang mga players natin choose to defend with their rears rather than with their feet. Di ba basics lang yan? Kaya hirap na hirap ang big men natin kasi sasaluhin pa nila ang inability ng backcourt players to defend penetrations.

I really thought Guiao would come in and do something with the program. Nakakahinayang talaga.

#3.1 jaemark on 2009-08-17 12:50 (Reply)

you remembered wrong. malaysia's shooters stink.

#3.1.1 concernedcitizen on 2009-08-17 14:50 (Reply)

But I'm sure you get the point about changing the offense a.k.a more outside shooting.

#4 Tiger on 2009-08-17 13:39 (Reply)

1. PBA must adopt FIBA rules to familiarize its players with the international game. Team Pilipinas gave up too many fouls, we were always in the penalty in the process giving up too many free throws.

2. Speaking of free throws, the team has to make those that they are given! We lost to Jordan by 11, and we missed what, 8 or 9 freethrows? If you make even just half of those misses then it's an entirely different ballgame. The whole league should have a freaking freethrow clinic for all its players!!

3. The team composed as it is is actually okay. SBP and the PBA should think real hard about keeping it together. Yes,having Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes would've helped but they were injured, so what can you do. I would've kept Ranidel and added Hontiveros and Alapag though, but that's just me. This team IS okay, it just needs more international experience, and more time playing together AS A TEAM!

4. Please, please, please replace Yeng Guiao!!! The guy has no offensive sets, and I doubt if he has any defensive patterns, he's slow to react during games (he should've milked the pick and roll play with Asi and our shooters during the Iran game because Haddadi didnt want to leave the paint. But i doubt Guiao even saw it much less called it out, which is weird since most of our three pointers during the game came from those situations, beginning with Helterbrand's first three.), ang alam lang niya eh magmura!! How do you expect me to believe he's a serious coach when he has other responsibilities as the vice-governor of Pampanga for pete's sake!!! Team Pilipinas deserves a better coach, someone who has an actual system, someone who knows that there's more to coaching than just shouting at your players, someone who's familiar with the international game, someone who'll take care of player development, someone who's not attached to any other professional or collegiate basketball program, someone who has no other job but to be the national coach!! Bring back Chot Reyes! At least he had a program, at least he knew what he was doing, at least he was thinking long-term, at the very least he's a better X's and O's type of coach than Yeng Guiao, he's a much better in-game tactician as well. If not Chot, I vote for Toroman, this is the guy who built the Iran basketball program, and look where they are now, Asian Champions!! And all their players are homegrown!! No Iran-Ams or Iran-Fors, no naturalized players, all of them are 100% Iranian! Don't we want a guy like Toroamn handling our own National Basketball program rather than a hack like Yeng Guiao??

The whole Philippine basketball program needs fundamental change if it wants to ensure future success in the international stage.

#5 Tiger on 2009-08-17 14:12 (Reply)

5. Whichever coach we do choose he has to sign on for the long haul, at least a three-year term, kung pwede nga five years dapat. We cant have our players learning a new system every time there's an international tourney! Every tournament na lang pabago-bago coach natin, Jaworski, Norman Black, Tim Cone, Jong Uichico, Chot Reyes and now Yeng Guiao, and that list doesn't even include all the other coaches we've fielded from the amateur and semi-pro ranks! Look at our international rivals, every tournament you keep seeing the same faces on their benches, especially the Middle-Eastern nations. Is it any coincidence that they've now surpassed us in basketball prowess and capability? Dati-rati palagi silang tambak sa atin, ngayon tayo na lagi ang talunan sa kanila. Just look at the NBA, all the successful teams have long-term coaches, the Lakers, Spurs and Jazz come to mind. How are we supposed to win when every time there's a tourney eh palaging paiba-iba ang ating coaching staff, where's the continuity? Where's the familiarity?