The luck of the draw

The top news item in all the sports pages has been the “Group of Hope” draw of the Philippines in the FIBA-Asia tournament set in Tianjin, China. The Philippines will sidestep any immediate confrontation with powerhouse China (which will be parading at least three NBA players and five seven-footers, minus injured Yao Ming). Instead, the country will be bracketed with Korea, Japan and Sri Lanka in Group A.

Japan defeated China in the East Asia tournament, but lost to an undermanned Korean side in Nagoya. Both were the latest inclusions into the 16-team field. Korea currently has health problems to key players, and will probably not have solved these issues in time for Tianjin. Kim Joo-sung was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and missed the Nagoya tournament, while center He Seung-jin was out with an injured ankle. In their triumph over Japan, 6-9 Kim Min-Soo torched the hosts with 16 points.

It has also been reported that Korea will be calling back into service once again top shooter Hur Jae, who was a regular fixture on their national team more than a decade ago. When the Philippines first returned to the ABC Champions Cup in Kuala Lumpur back in 1987, Hur Jae was at his peak, bombing away even in the face of tough defense. Now, however, he will not be able to play extended minutes, but is still a threat.

Japan, still adjusting to new American coach David Hobbs, has some size, but will not be as physical as the Philippines. The Japanese are led by Takehiko Orimo and the Takeuchi twins: Kosuke, who is more of a scorer, and Joji who is more of a rebounder.

Little is known about the Sir Lankan basketball team, which doesn’t have that much size and is not really considered a threat. Sri Lanka, more known for cricket than basketball, first picked up basketball in 1917. The country joined FIBA-Asia in 1962.

With the luck of the draw, the Philippines can breathe a little easier and hope to get farther in its quest to get to the world championships.

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The luck of the draw also favors the country as the Philippine national men’s Rugby Union team competes in the Asian Five Nations Division 3 International Rugby Union Series on July 1 and 4 in Metro Manila. After a few years of successfully campaigning abroad, the Nationals finally have the chance to show their talent on home soil.

Our men’s team has built on successive wins since joining Rugby Union in Asia four years ago. In 2005, the Philippines won the gold in the Southeast Asian Games. The following year, we annexed the Division Five Asian Five Nations (A5N) Series and were promoted to Division Four. In 2007, we claimed a silver medal in the SEA Games, and followed it up last year by winning the Division 4 A5N Series. The Philippines also earned the right to host Division 3’s A5N at the Nomads Sports Club in Parañaque.

If the Philippines can defeat Guam, Indonesia and Iran in the tournament, the team will be elevated to the Division 2 level of the A5N Series and be ranked in the top 12 countries in Asia.

“The current Philippine men’s team is relatively young, with an average age of just 22 years old. The future looks bright for this team for the coming four to five years,” says head coach Matt Cullen.

Cullen believes that the current national team can aim to be competing in Division 1 by 2011 and adds that, with the combination of youth and talent, this team will definitely win another medal at the Southeast Asian and Asian Games.

For those interested in watching the Asian Five Nations, admission is free. All sports-loving Filipinos are invited to see the national team climb up to international prominence on our own turf.