DEVELOPMENT is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as 1) “the act, process, or result of developing”; 2) the state of being developed”; and 3) “a developed tract of land”. To serve the purpose of talking about the state of Philippine basketball, the first two definitions will suffice.
In 2008, the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas embarked on an ambitious developmental project involving the finest collegiate basketball players in the country. The FIBA-recognized organization dubbed the team Smart Gilas, which was built around a framework of intensive training and exposure to foreign opposition, aimed at rekindling the glory days of Philippine hoops. Its ultimate objective is and remains qualification for the 2012 London Olympics.
Two years have passed, yet the topic is worth discussing since flag and country, and the future of the national pastime are at stake. About a year ago, I expressed
my views on the lofty project. I don’t intend to repeat myself here, although, to set the record straight, I still hold the same views, particularly on paying student-athletes, and nothing has changed.
Smart Gilas is often referred to as the Philippine Developmental Team, particularly when that all-PBA, Yeng Guiao-mentored Powerade Team Pilipinas was still around. “Development”, or “developmental”, given the definitions above, connotes the act or process of developing. If recent form is used to measure the act or process of developing, the squad’s 7th place finish in the 2010 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in Doha, Qatar isn’t the biggest step forward. Sure, there were injuries to key players like JV Casio that accompanied that seemingly eternal search for a foreign big man. But results are the most concrete measure of success or the lack thereof, and Doha pales in comparison to the team’s showing in the Jakarta edition last year.
That argument isn’t novel or unique, and perhaps has already been mentioned somewhere, somehow. So, while using the context of development, I’ll move on and throw the entire paradigm of “development” into question. Two points.
First, development presupposes a something that needs to be developed. In this instance, it is Philippine basketball. However, is the Smart Gilas model the most efficient to attain the second definition of development, “the state of being developed”? The term “developmental” was coined presumably to refer to the growth the collegiate players were projected to enjoy under the program. Gradually, however, Smart Gilas has been luring star Fil-Americans such as Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz. Also, it has conspicuously acted like a “PBA team not competing in the PBA,” trading for Japeth Aguilar, and taking aim at hotshots Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams.
These moves clearly betray the team’s initial thrust of developing young talent. In effect, Smart Gilas isn’t any more different from past national teams, which often mixed pros and amateurs (technically, none of the Gilas players are amateurs since they all get paid). There is nothing wrong with bolstering the national squad with talent, but please, let’s drop the pretense of harnessing young talent. Trading for more established talents and attracting near-finished products in the form of former NCAA Division I players, and calling it development, is a lie. This was not the original plan, was it?
And while we’re at it, it seems that the search for that elusive, Yamashita’s Treasure-like candidate for naturalization is taking precedence over the entire developmental program. Today, the rhetoric is loud and clear: “We can’t win without a foreign big man”. Not that I am against naturalizations in general, but if this attitude persists, then why did God-knows-who have to go through all the trouble tapping the likes of Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Jason Ballesteros, Aldrech Ramos, Greg Slaughter and Magi Sison? If they’re not good enough outside the NCAA and UAAP, why bother getting them in the first place? Oh, I know…to develop them. Sure, but apparently, development can’t wait for them. Why were we taken for a ride and led to believe that a premium was to be put on training our big men, only to end up looking for an instant contributor thousands of miles away?
There’s nothing wrong with naturalizing foreigners willing to don the blue, red and yellow. But something’s not right if it’s done under the guise of development. It’s not even wrong, it’s deplorable, and I can only pity Al-Hussaini and co.
By the looks of things, development has taken on a new and different meaning. It’s tantamount to winning in the here and now. Apparently, we’re taking the elevator and not the stairs, as was originally planned.
This paves the way for the second point. This sense of impatience throws into question the whole framework of development that our basketball messiahs have put in place. To expect Smart Gilas, and even the brilliant Rajko Toroman, to put the Philippines back on the cage map by reaching the Promised Land that is London is the very opposite of what development truly means. Our friendly Merriam Webster definition spoke of a “process” and “state of being,” one that is not rushed nor unrealistically ventured into. A thinking basketball fan or spectator cannot be made to believe otherwise. All s/he has to do is ask why the hell pros are being traded for.
Unlike all other rants about the state of Philippine hoops, this version ends with a proposal. We have to be fair to Toroman and Chris Tiu and friends. After all, they’re the ones tasked to execute this idea of development (and it’s not their fault), este, winning immediately. First, let’s get off this road to basketball perdition and not expect the universe from this group. They’re a talented bunch, no doubt, but have been pressured to aim for something huge in such a short span of time. The working premise was wrong from the very beginning, and is being abused and molested along the way.
Instead, let’s right the ship and urge our basketball lords to plot a different and more realistic course. The 2010 FilOil Flying V Tanduay First Five tiff has paid witness to the gradual birth of a promising crop of young talent known as the Nokia RP Under-18 squad. The likes of Russel Escoto, Von Pessumal and Kiefer Ravena have wowed both the viewing public and the opposition, beating the likes of NCAA champion San Sebastian in the process. The Under-13 outfit, coached by University of the East assistant Mark Herrera, is also doing well in the juniors division of the same event. Can the country’s efforts at developing talent be directed towards them, and all the other youngsters who want to play the game we all love? Could the primary goal be redirected to Rio 2016, with a younger generation of players benefiting from coaching, training and exposure, and with Smart Gilas blazing the trail for them? Such efforts would foster a more genuine developmental approach, sans the stop-gaps and short-term “remedies” that have proven so futile in the first place. Plus, we won’t need to lie to ourselves anymore.
This is what real development is all about. Hopefully, the right people will be up to the task.
