Asiad champ, no; No. 3, maybe

Ramon Fernandez, undoubtedly one of the best Filipino cagers of all time who made a mark not only in the local scene but also in the international field, predicted a mere third-place finish at best for the Philippine team in the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.

Fernandez thought Chinese basketball has improved tremendously while the Koreans will be tough to beat at home turf, thus, he sees the RP team settling for crumbs in the Pusan Games despite American coach Ron Jacobs having marquee Fil-Am players at his disposal and a year’s preparation for the Games.

Fernandez, a member of the very first PBA selection sent to the games in 1990 in Beijing, shared his thoughts on the coming Asiad to some sportswriters during the PBA Press Corps Awards Night at the Bayview Park Hotel Saturday.

"Mahirap nang talunin ang China ngayon. Grabe ang improvement nila," said Fernandez, the team captain of the Robert Jaworski-mentored 1990 RP squad that finished second behind the Chinese.

Fernandez and the team that also included Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Benjie Paras, Alvin Patrimonio, Hector Calma and Ronnie Magsanoc twice lost to the Chinese in the Beijing Games, including a blowout by more than 60 points in the quarterfinals. No RP team has beaten China since then.

For the record, the Philippine team that last won against the Chinese was coached by Jacobs. That was 16 years ago in the Asian Basketball Confederation men’s championship with Jacobs having a team backstopped by naturalized Filipinos Jeff Moore and Dennis Still.

Incidentally, Fernandez expressed bad feeling that Jacobs and not a Filipino coach was tapped to call the shots for the Pusan joust.

"Ano ba ang alam ni Jacobs na hindi pa alam ng mga Filipino coaches?" said Fernandez.

The Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines isn’t blocking Jacobs’ appointment but is set to make a manifesto expressing its opinion on the issue. The group will meet upon the return of its president Chito Narvasa from a holiday trip to the United States.

Narvasa had made his personal stand. The former Shell and Purefoods mentor raised several points in questioning Jacobs’ appointment.

"(His appointment) hit the heart. It’s sad. The impression that may be created by this is no Filipino coach in the PBA or any other existing basketball league in the Philippines is capable and talented enough to coach this team," he added.

Also during the PBA Press Corps Awards Night, Coach of the Year awardee Yeng Guiao, a former BCAP president, made a little pinch on the issue, saying "pwede rin palang manalo ng Coach of the Year kahit hindi national coach."