RP cagers open gold quest versus UAE

BUSAN - The road to redemption is upon them.

Somewhere in the passage of time, the Philippines lost its glory in basketball, the very stronghold that has become the nation’s pride and joy back home.

For the first four stagings of the Asian Games since its inception in 1951 in New Delhi to become the continent’s answer to the Olympics, the Filipinos reigned supreme in the sport.

They were still kings of the hoops in Asia in 1962 before a downtrend would surface right after the Asiad in Bangkok that would relegate the Philippines to a cage limbo for the past 40 years with only a silver to show in 1990.

Those were barren years. And no end in sight it seems as it traversed its troubled past to a troubled present.

Despite an upbeat mood in the camp on the eve of the competition in basketball in Busan, the residue of the misfortunes of the past 10 months is very much felt around this bunch of Nationals beefed up by Fil-Ams.

The very man who had embraced Philippine basketball in mid-life to become an acknowledged guru of this national pastime, and tasked to plot the nation’s comeback here was felled by a massive stroke when the team was in its infancy.

And yet the team recovered from the trauma and handled ably by the man’s trusted lieutenant in pro hoopdom, the Nationals bravely soldiered on and were gradually hitting their stride when another tragedy struck it that affected its form as massively as a stroke.

Its No. 1 offensive threat, whose presence alone provided versatility and resiliency to the team, limped with a torn Achilles tendon only four days before departure, and the team hobbled with a kind of Achilles heel of its own.

This is the kind of challenge that awaits them in their road to redemption.

And even bigger challenges outside of its confines.

There is world-class China, although nursing a bruised ego of their own with their debacle in the World championship, host South Korea, North Korea and a slew of teams from the Gulf and Arab world.

The Nationals for sure will not back down from this top class opposition, and with a lot of heart and poise and some measure of luck, who knows, this team may pull off the biggest surprise to a waiting and hopeful nation.

"We are raring to play, the guys are ready," said national coach Jong Uichico.

The Nationals will begin their campaign at 3 p.m. today against the United Arab Emirates at the start of the basketball competition at the Geumjeong Sports Park gym.

Since they arrived here Wednesday, he has subjected the team to close to six hours of workout. In fact, they practiced twice Thursday and had a hard one yesterday with Mick Pennisi coming in as a regular in place of the wounded Danny Seigle.

They have scouted the Emirates five during the Gulf championship which UAE won over Qatar, the last foreign squad the Nationals took on in tune-up last week, and Uichico said the series did well in preparing the RP squad against UAE since the Qataris had approximated the athleticism of the Arabs.

"They are smaller and quicker than the Qataris but a much improved version than the one they sent in Bangkok," said Uichico.

The Filipinos then walloped the UAE five, 93-57, at the start of the quarterfinals and went on to finish third overall for the bronze under the banner of the Centennials.

Veteran Kenneth Duremdes, now a starter at No. 2 position in place of Danny Seigle, fired 19 points in the game, the same output of Allan Caidic, now an assistant to Uichico, while Olsen Racela had seven points, Dennis Espino four and Andy Seigle two among the returnees.

"They are quick, agile, very athletic and highly intense and motivated. They love to put full-court pressure even on big men in defense and cover the lanes very well," said assistant coach Binky Favis in his scouting report to Uichico.

The Arabs finished 10th in last year’s Asian men’s basketball championship under American coach Bruce Wilson. The team is now handled by a Bosnian coach.

ASIAD NOTES: Danny Ildefonso was ecstatic over the birth of a daughter, Sofia Daniella, on the morning of their departure Wednesday. Ildefonso, who has two boys with wife Maria Sabrina, watched the seven-pound baby on the nursery after the delivery then rushed to the airport to join the team. . . His two boys are John David, 5, and Sean Dave, 2. . . Crew members of the PAL flight to Busan recalled how the tall and hefty players, like 6-10 Asia Taulava, had to alternate on front seats since the PAL 737 they took just didn’t have enough leg room. It was a smooth flight the bulk of the RP delegation led by PSC chair Eric Buhain taken

Thursday and they were met at the airport by chief of mission Tom Carrasco upon arrival. Carrasco himself said seven golds is a good forecast in a published article at the Busan Asiad. Among those who attended to the need of the athletes and officials during three-hour flight is PAL’s Lito Balangue, a sports buff who has followed the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry in the UAAP with zest.