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There’s a reason why the Banals were destined to be devout Christians. It all stemmed from their name which translated from Pilipino to English, means holy. From coach Joel down to his grandson Noah, Christianity and basketball are the center of their lives.
Sportung chaneLa Salle coach Topex Robinson will be the first to admit that the Archers couldn’t have won the UAAP men’s basketball championship without his core staff. Assistants Caloy Garcia, Gian Nazario, Mon Jose, Oliver Bunyi and JB Sison weren’t just stand-ins or props. They were active participants in the coaching process from scouting to viewing to game-planning to communicating with the players on how to execute on both ends.
The PBA has adopted several rules from the NBA playbook but it’s far from a one-way street. When the NBA instituted the play-in system two years ago, it introduced the double-chance system which is actually the twice-to-beat advantage that’s been long in effect in the PBA. And when the NBA rolled out the in-season tournament this year, it brought in the concept of the quotient which has also been an age-old practice in breaking ties in the PBA.
It’s do-or-die in the UAAP men’s basketball Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today with No. 1 UP and No. 2 La Salle destined to dispute the crown in a showdown for supremacy. The Fighting Maroons lost the championship to Ateneo last season and want it back. The Green Archers return to the Finals after a six-year wait and weren’t expected to go this far with coach Topex Robinson who took over from Derick Pumaren early this year.
In the NBA, there are soft salary caps where teams may avail of exceptions to exceed limits but a luxury tax is imposed if so-called aprons are breached. The formulas of exceptions are complicated and the computation of a luxury tax is just as complex. A player may negotiate a contract with no individual cap but the restriction is the team’s salary limit of $136 million this season. Among the NBA’s 30 teams, only three are paying under the cap – Charlotte, Orlando and Indiana, meaning 27 franchises are exercising exceptions or paying the luxury tax to the league.
FIBA secretary-general Andreas Zagklis himself once said “bilog ang bola,” referring to the unpredictability of the outcome in a basketball game. So in evaluating the probability of Gilas surviving the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Riga, Latvia, in July, you can’t totally rule out a surprise finish. Of course, the odds are extremely daunting. The chances are slim or none. But playing the game isn’t just all about winning. It’s showing up on the court, ready to give your all, no matter the obstacles. Representing your country proudly on the global stage is a serious matter and whether you win or lose, what really counts is how you wear your national colors.
Before the eFIBA World Finals got underway in Sweden last weekend, eGilas played a pair of scrimmages with USA and scored a shocking win, 48-43. It was USA’s only loss in tournament games and scrimmages since the regional qualifiers were held enroute to the World Finals.
eGilas team manager Richard Brojan isn’t leaving anything to chance and the Philippines’five-man squad is pumped up to duplicate the golden drive at the Hangzhou Asian Games in the eight-nation eFIBA World Finals in Sweden this weekend. The face-to-face video basketball competition began yesterday with eGilas taking on Lebanon at 8:30 p.m., Turkey at 10:30 p.m. and Morocco at 12:15 a.m. (all Manila time). If eGilas finishes first or second in its group of four, the Philippines will advance to the best-of-three semifinals today. And if eGilas survives, it will play in the best-of-three finals at 10:30 p.m. tonight (Manila time).