#labapilipinas

I drop almost everything  each time Gilas Pilipinas plays . And no less than a World Cup stage can excite me more from following the team. Of course, I make concessions at home. I announce ahead of time before my commander-in-chief the schedule of the games. And we make adjustments with chores and parental duties. But lately my 9-year-old son noticed something different from our experience following Gilas. Wrapping up tonight’s game versus Tunisia, my anak was calm yet bold enough to ask me, “Why do we always lose games? Aren’t we that good anymore?” It hit me like a dagger. Took me a while to gather my emotions. I felt like I dwelt too much longer on the words “aren’t we that good anymore”. We are good. Won’t be here if we weren’t. These men are professional players. And we know what they can do. We see they have skills and talent. We’ve seen them make impossible shots. Drained threes with almost no time left. Powered their way inside the paint and still make a shot, a...

The names are out. These are the names that represent us all. Like them or not, they carry on their chest our identity as a nation—complicated by different issues that affect us as a country. But as Gilas Pilipinas march on to the FIBA World Cup in China, their names bring with them this one resounding message:

First and foremost, our apologies for the desecration of the esteemed wordmark. It was never the intention to ruin the name. But after the blatant and outright trashing of no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines, this one doesn’t even come close to, or fare as against the magnitude of demoralizing words he had uttered to our beloved Gilas Pilipinas as we head on to the #FIBAWC.

EHEM!   Are we really #FIBAWC bound? Because it seems we're not. While most teams gather and prepare, doing tune-ups already, adding notable stars to their pool, even a couple of National Teams joining the NBA Summer League —our Gilas pool is struggling with attendance as they begin to call the weekly practice. What used to be a "small ball" handicap for Gilas Pilipinas has now become " small attendance " obstacle!

Here's another shot at hosting the #FIBAWC. Can we finally nail this one? Of course we're teaming with Japan and Indonesia this time around—so this sounds really very exciting. This side of Asia will definitely create a great vibe in the region and the whole wide world.

That doesn’t sound like basketball. Or does it?

It’s the season once again. Nope, sorry Christmas. It’s not YET you that we’re talking about here. Gilas season is upon us. Woops, BUT—not so fast.