The Interbasket forum for Philippine basketball is home to some of the most passionate local basketball fans, particularly of the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Basketball Team. Because of the rabid fandom of its members, the message board has attracted the attention of basketball insiders, including officials of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP), the country’s national basketball federation.

One such personality identifies himself only by the handle Namamangha, and is acknowledged by everyone to be an official of the SBP. Oddly, the past couple weeks, Namamangha started badmouthing Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman in the forums:

Continue reading "SBP official badmouths Coach Rajko Toroman online, as Smart Gilas descends into heavy turmoil"

Remember that whole issue with Jamal Sampson? Well, it turns out that he still hasn’t been released from his contract by Smart Gilas. Last week, he wrote in with some bad news:

Continue reading "Jamal Sampson’s shadow still looms over Smart Gilas import search"

Last Thursday, in the wake of Dwayne Jones signing with the Phoenix Suns, I wrote about some other D-League prospects that Smart Gilas might want to check out. Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside singled out former University of Wisconsin center Greg Stiemsma as a promising player that should interest the Gilas brain trust.

Continue reading "Another Smart Gilas prospect, Greg Stiemsma, signs with the Minnesota Timberwolves"

Rafe Bartholomew makes an excellent point in the comments section of the previous post about Smart Gilas’ search for an import:

Continue reading "Import search remains the biggest challenge for Smart Gilas"

You almost have to feel sorry for Frankie Lim, who has worked tirelessly since taking over the management of Smart Gilas lining up import prospects for national team coach Rajko Toroman. Lim, if various newspaper reports were to be believed, was days away from coming to terms with prospect Dwayne Jones before the D-League’s best rebounder was called up by the Phoenix Suns.

Lim’s import search had been extensive, so much so that the excellent D-League blog Ridiculous Upside even wrote a snarky post titled, “Want to play for the Filipino National Team? Be tall, play in the D-League.”

Continue reading "Smart Gilas import search continues after prospect Dwayne Jones signs with the Phoenix Suns"

The ongoing Jamal Sampson saga has created some buzz even in the mainstream media: both the Manila Standard Today and GMANews.TV picked up the story last Thursday, while Patricia Hizon’s (always excellent) column for Standard Today last Friday carried the only reaction from an SBP official so far, from newly-minted Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim. Yesterday, Abante Tonite’s Zaldy Perez also mentioned the blog post in his column.

(It’s weird though, I always figured that if an Abante Tonite column was going to run my stuff, it would be for Dear Xerex. Especially on the eve of Valentine’s. But I digress.)

Continue reading "Jamal Sampson issue builds buzz; import answers Rajko Toroman"

I got a curious email tonight from Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, containing a long and impassioned message in response to the series of emails from Jamal Sampson that was posted on this blog. Let me just preface, with all due respect to Coach Toroman, that while very inspiring especially for Smart Gilas fans, the message contained little about the meat of Sampson’s allegations against the SBP, his contract situation.

That said, it’s worth a read for every Pinoy basketball fan. What follows is Rajko Toroman’s email, in full:

Continue reading "Rajko Toroman responds to Jamal Sampson"

After reading some comments on the previous post, Jamal Sampson sent this along:

For the [Smart Gilas] insider who responded to what I wrote, I would say I respect what he has to say. I know other players don’t get paid on time and still play, and I respect all the players on the national team, they’re a great group of guys, but their situation is different from mine. They have to play to keep their jobs on this team.

Continue reading "Jamal Sampson responds to comments"

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a curious source: Smart Gilas import Jamal Sampson. He took issue with an item I posted about his performance in China, where I quoted a ShamSports report calling him “a pretty awful offensive player.” Sampson said that during the season in question, when he averaged a paltry 10 points and 10 rebounds, he was playing with a hamstring injury. He also pointed out that in a previous season in China, he dominated the CBA, leading the Liaoning team to the finals, while averaging upwards of 20 points and 20 rebounds. One report on Eurobasket even called him “arguably the most expensive and impressive import in CBA history.”

Contrary to reports, Sampson said that he is still under contract with Smart Gilas, even as he is working to get a release, with a bigger offer in China waiting for him. In a series of emails to Fire Quinito, Sampson wrote about the problems he has encountered with Smart Gilas.

As always, this blog is open to any response from the SBP and Smart Gilas regarding this matter.

Continue reading "Jamal Sampson speaks on Smart Gilas and the SBP"

Like I said in the previous post, I hadn’t seen enough of Smart Gilas in Dubai, so these are more general thoughts. That said, I was thoroughly impressed with the team’s performance, and like any other Pinoy basketball fan, I am hopeful that this is the start of the team’s steady climb.

Anyway, some of my thoughts, in bullets:

Continue reading "Thoughts on Smart Gilas, after their sensational bronze-winning performance at the Dubai International Basketball Tournament"