Blog: Asian Game of Thrones

So Andray Blatche, the country's naturalized player, will not be allowed to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. This after the Olympic Council of Asia stood firm in its earlier decision to disallow Blatche from suiting up for Gilas, citing a provision for naturalized players in its constitution and by-laws requiring them to at least  have three years of residence in the country after naturalization.

The decision was in stark contrast to a memo from FIBA – the world governing body for basketball – urging OCA to re-enlist Blatche, who is fresh from a spectacular performance in the FIBA World Cup in Spain, back into the Gilas fold. For the uninitiated, OCA has its own rules outside FIBA. The Asian Games, of course, is run by OCA while FIBA runs everything but it. So Gilas is in a dilemma.

And we have several thoughts.

1. I don't know. They're probably doing this to us because Blatche played nothing less than fantastic in Spain. We know what happened in Seville, right? We downed Gorgui Dieng and Senegal in overtime, almost beat No. 16 Croatia, No. 3 Argentina and South American power Puerto Rico, and lost to No. 5 Greece by just 12 points, probably single digit if the Greeks didn't point-pad. They'll probably not mind if Blatche and Gilas played poorly. But we played well. So naturally, some countries out there are scared of us. Can't blame them. This Gilas could be worth a pound of gold.

2. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas vice-chairman Ricky Vargas said it himself recently – there are unseen hands at work here. And we agree with him. We may be a small country, but we have big hearts. We will not be bullied. Ever heard of the word "Puso?" It means heart. Big, massive heart.

3. Vargas offered three options. One, have Marcus Douthit, Gilas' other naturalized player who helped power us to a silver medal finish in the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championship in Manila and eventually a spot in Spain, replace Blatche in Incheon. Second, elevate this case to the Courts of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, where we have a chance of getting justice. Third, we can call it day and boycott Incheon outright. The first one is the best option, if you ask me. I think we still have a chance of getting that gold despite the absence of Blatche. If we lose, let's lose with dignity. But with our confidence sky high after the Sevilla experience, we won't. I agree also with the second one. And what do you know, I will probably agree also if the SBP decided to pull out.

Follow me on Twitter: @JoeySVillar

Or you can check out my Sportsmaryosep blog: http://sportsmaryosep.wordpress.com/

***

Editor’s note: Joey Villar is a veteran sportswriter for The Philippine Star, covering college basketball and other sports. He also blogs occasionally for Unblogged Sports and NBA.com Philippines. His views are purely his own and do not reflect those of the organizations he writes for.