I’m trying to find the right words to say about the very impressive win by Smart Gilas, which is hard, especially since after the game I went out drinking with j_myxx and NeekoBoi (and their awesome dad) of Patay ang Butiki, Gary of Basketball Exchange, and Toff Rada of toffrada.

Anyway, some tipsy thoughts, in bullet points:

• Rajko Toroman deserves all the credit in the world for the job he’s done. I finally figured out why he’s so good, and it’s not because he has arcane coaching technology or that he has a higher basketball IQ than our local coaches; it’s because he outworks them. It’s obvious in their product on the court. The crisp cuts, the pinpoint passing, the excellent communication, the perfect defensive rotations (with their tiny guards knowing where to funnel their men) – these were all drilled meticulously during boring, monotonous practice sessions. I can’t imagine Filipino coaches dealing with such minutiae. Well, there’s Tim Cone, but he’s American.


• This is all reflected in Chris Tiu’s post two weeks ago about playing for Toroman: “Practices are always intense. Coach T himself is very intense in every single practice, more so during games. Sometimes we fear for his blood pressure. He is never ever late and there's no excuse for being late. He runs the drills himself while the assistant coaches support him, not the other way around like in many professional teams. He is extremely particular with the details and making the right decisions in every play offensively and defensively. He is a perfectionist.”


• In the same post, Chris Tiu talked about how he gave Mark Barroca a rosary and a St. Josemaria Escriva prayer card from his mom after they talked about Barroca’s troubles.


• Also, Chris Tiu tweeted this the other night: “Was able to get free tickets to Air Supply tonight!! Can't wait to watch one of my favorite oldie bands live :)”


• By the way, James Yap and Chris Tiu were matched up for most of the game. Yap may have won the battle of the metrosexual showbiz stars, but Tiu won the war.


• I am trying to figure out how psyche myself into rooting for Chris Tiu during international competition. I’ll have it down by 2011, I guess.


• Before the game, I was exchanging emails with Rafe Bartholomew and I offered this caveat about Powerade Team Pilipinas: I thought a well-trained PBA team like, say, Alaska, could probably beat them at this point just because they haven’t been playing together, and that some of the guys are coming off long layoffs. True enough, Powerade’s play was uglier than Mark Barroca.


• Loved how Toroman has assigned roles to players: Barroca is the only one allowed to freelance on offense, Jayvee Casio has the greenlight to shoot jumpers off their double high-pick, the power forward (Japeth Aguilar or Aldretch Ramos) can shoot off pick-and-pops, and CJ Giles can go for a quick-hitting move on the left block. Also loved the cross-pick at the elbow for Dylan Ababou that freed him up time and again for a jumper from the top of the key.


• While tonight’s victory was great, I imagine Smart Gilas would have a tougher time against other PBA teams, whose coaches usually do scouting and custom preparation for other opponents. Unlike, say, Powerade coach Yeng Guiao, who just goes ahead and coaches with his balls.

In my previous post, I described the game in my previous post as a clash of basketball culture, and a defining moment for our collective basketball soul. Let me leave with a couple of quotes. First, from noted poet and basketball fan, Sherman Alexie:

I am a holistic basketball fan.

I love the wins and losses. I love the spectacular assists and idiotic turnovers. I love the poetry of teamwork and the pornography of jump shots taken too early in the shot clock.

Next, from the Free Darko philosophy, which appropriately captures what Rafe described as the unique essence of the Filipino game:

A large part of what we've deified here has been domination-through-style, the star as an existential force who asserts himself in the face of bland, functional models of play.

Shoals expounded:

Stars belong to everyone, even if you think your way into their palace of grandeur is unique in its sparkling twists and turns. To cement your preference in great and visible objects, there has to be another moody presence in the room, an equal and opposite reaction that allows you to define them as they define you.