Remember Shin Dong Pa?

Shin Dong Pa, the South Korean hotshot Filipinos loved to hate a long time ago, is in the country – this time not as the dreaded opponent he used to be but a new-found friend of Philippine basketball.

Shin, the biggest thorn in the Filipinos’ campaign for the ABC crown in the late ’60s until the early ’70s, is here to share his expertise with members of the RP youth squads for whom he held a two-hour clinic Thursday night at the Rizal Coliseum.

It was actually the fifth visit to Manila this year alone for the 56-year-old scoring machine best remembered for leading the South Koreans to the 1969 ABC championship in Bangkok, Thailand where the Philippines landed third.

In a game against the Philippines 31 years ago, Shin, with his impeccable outside touch, scored 48 points in a 95-86 victory over a team led by Danny Florencio, Robert Jaworski, Jimmy Mariano and Freddie Webb with Lauro Mumar as head coach.

It was only in the 1973 ABC final in Manila where the Filipinos got back at Shin, with the late Tembong Melencio successfully defending against the deadly shooter. The Philippines won that game, 90-78, for the title.

"Filipinos love basketball so much that’s why I consider this my second home," said Shin through an interpreter. "I just want to find out how I can help improve the quality of Philippine basketball."

Still looking fit in his six-foot-two frame, Shin, who considers Florencio as the finest Filipino player he has ever seen, also talked of the future of Philippine basketball, particularly in its continuing bid to regain prominence in the region.

"Filipino players have the skills but they don’t cooperate with each other," he said. "And I can’t find players today with skills like Jaworski, Florencio, (Ramon) Fernandez and (Bogs) Adornado. Your players now focus on individual target and their popularity. You can’t win with five Michael Jordan’s in your team. You only need one Michael Jordan, then a Rodman, then a Pippen."

Shin, so deadly from the free-throw lane that he once made 99-of-100 shots in practice (missing only on his 88th try), said the emergence of professional leagues in the Philippines and Korea only made it doubly hard for these countries to beat China in the international arena.

"Professional players are not patriotic. They are not loyal to their countries and not ready to make the sacrifices. That’s why they are left with no chance to beat the Chinese who really play for their country."

Shin observed that professional players play for the money and, once tapped for international competitions, "only think of themselves and not their country. Because they earn money through their bodies, then they think of their bodies first... their security. You must change that concept. Or else, it will be very hard."

During the clinic, Shin talked about the basics of fine shooting, starting from the stance, the spin and the arch as the ball travels to the hoop. He also cited the importance of practice, and learning to shoot with your left foot out if you’re a right-hander.

"To be a good shooter, you must put your mind into it. Because if you’re good, the other teams know that. So you must find other ways to score," he said, even if most of the participants in the clinic seated at ringside hardly listened or even took notes – either busy mingling with each other or had their hands tied to their cellular phones.

Probably, they didn’t even know who Shin Dong Pa is. Or they didn’t even know what they were missing.