A season of change

The year 2001 will be memorable in many ways for the tumult it brought to Philippine basketball, both for the good and the bad. So many things transpired that forced us to take a close look at ourselves and, for many, to seek a life away from the game.

The year began with the fight between two factions claiming leadership of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, a fight carried over from mid-November of the year before. Simultaneously, the PBA draft pulled in over 30 players from the downscaled MBA, in the most promising pool of talent since 1989.

Weeks later, despite everything, the Philippines trounced watered-down competition in the SEABA. The PBA soon opened, vibrant and full of life, with a bumper crop of exciting new players. The PBL was engaged in an on-again, off-again battle for its right to name itself an amateur league.

Controversies abounded, with Fil-Ams bringing their brand of game into town, and many players looking for work. One of the happiest coaches was Boycie Zamar, who filled his days mapping out plays for the national team, two colleges and the Socsargen Marlins.

The Basketball Show launches, giving the true hoops fan a big dose of a hardcourt fix every week, finally getting its bearing on Sunday afternoons.

In the PBA, everyone wanted a piece of the San Miguel Beermen, whose corporate dominance echoed in the boardroom, as well as the mother company changed the face of the PBA directly or otherwise with its acquisition of the storied Purefoods franchise. Players like Vince Hizon were and still are looking for satisfaction after not getting their due compensation from the year before.

The MBA finally blasted off in the middle of the year, but also underwent more growth pains. MBA Commissioner Ogie Narvasa left, Matt Mitchell disappeared, and the Andok’s San Juan Knights won the First Phase, their last taste of glory.

Momentarily, the heat of battle was to go overseas, but not without the threat of us not even being able to play. FIBA suspended the Philippines indefinitely, rendering us incapable of even going to the ABC Men’s Championship and measuring ourselves against China, Japan, Korea and new threat Lebanon. Perhaps it was just as well.

Red Bull becomes one of the fastest to ascend to the zenith of the PBA, winning the Commissioners Cup in record time. Finally, the leadership row in the BAP and the suspension by FIBA are a bad memory. We can play again.

Then the world stops as De La Salle thwarts bitterest rival Ateneo de Manila in the UAAP finals, the hot ticket for the month. The purity of its passion proved a breath of fresh air for the polluted lungs and minds of those tired of bickering and personal disputes.

And just in time. With the economy sagging and our spirits shattered by the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Center, we were buoyed up by our men’s team winning the gold medal in the SEA Games. The PBL gained a reprieve; status quo it would be. Score one for the amateurs.

Then, the biggest news of all. The PBA announces the selection of Ron Jacobs as head coach of the RP team that would try to unseat China in the Asian Games in Pusan, Korea next year. With the BCAP quiet like a prowling jaguar, historic tryouts begin.

The PBA is rocked by the impending withdrawal of the Tanduay franchise, just as the MBA is rocked by the news that erstwhile champion Andok’s San Juan will no longer be participating. FedEx, the backbone of the Laguna Lakers, is reported to have moved in on the vacated PBA franchise. New franchises will reportedly arise, and old ones awake from dormancy to fill in the void left by San Juan and Laguna.

Next year’s PBA draft may welcome an army of Fil-Ams, authentic or not, all smelling megabucks at the stroke of a pen. Whatever happens, we live in exciting times.

Take a deep breath. The rigodon continues next season, as every league will be adjusting to major displacements as though hit by a tsunami. The entire firmament will be shaken and stirred all the way through to the Asian Games, after which our heroes, blond or black-haired, native or "spokening dollar" will return to a grand welcome, unless they trip along the way against unfancied competition.

What does it all mean? Change is inevitable, my friend, and we must be comfortable in our discomfort. Change is a good thing, always. I repeat, always. It’s like stepping back from our corner of one of the good Lord’s paintings, only to discover that it was part of a larger masterpiece.

I may wax poetic, or sentimental, but ‘tis true. It is the season of change, though more like a Calvary than Bethlehem for basketball. Still, things will get better.

Trust me on that.