Making Sense of LA Tenorio and Calvin Abueva Being Cut from Gilas Pilipinas

Alaska's Calvin Abueva and Barangay Ginebra's LA Tenorio,
the 13th and 14th man for Gilas Pilipinas. 

The news reverberated all through the Philippines. The shock was palpable even from miles away. Any social media outlet, whether Twitter or Facebook, was abuzz with the news.

The Gilas Pilipinas team that will try to perform a “Manila Miracle” at home in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament cut their fourteen man pool to the final twelve that will play in the joust starting in less than a week. Coach Tab Baldwin revealed that his two cuts were Barangay Ginebra San Miguel point guard, and Gilas veteran LA Tenorio and Alaska Aces forward, and energetic hustler Calvin Abueva.

It has to be said, most of the feelings of shock focused on Abueva’s cut rather than Tenorio’s, though Tenorio’s status as one of the best playmaking point guards in the Philippine Basketball Association, as well as Gilas veteran and a perfect attendance record for practices provided some shock as well. Regarding Abueva however, it was widely believed that the former San Sebastian Stag, popularly known among Filipino basketball fans as “The Beast” and coming off a Best Player of the Conference award in the most recent PBA conference, was a lock for a spot in the Gilas squad.

A tough decision for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin

Let it be told, both men were deserving of a spot on the Gilas side. There were no winners in this situation. Certainly not Tenorio and Abueva, not Baldwin who now gets prevented from utilizing Tenorio’s stability in the backcourt for potential crucial situations as well as Abueva’s hustle, grit and grind and now faces questions from millions of passionate basketball fans in the Philippines, and certainly not the fans as well.

As such magnifies the difficulties present when it comes to forming and building a sports team, particularly forming a national basketball team to represent the Philippines. Having to select twelve players to comprise a team with an endless pool of talent plying their trade across the country is not an easy task, to say the least.

As already mentioned, Gilas will miss a lot with regards to Tenorio and Abueva, and what the two men bring to the court every time they take to a basketball court. Beginning with Tenorio, the Ateneo legend presented Gilas with the best passer in the pool (and probably across the PBA). Tenorio brought stability at the point guard spot, and brings forth a more comfortable level of playmaking ability than any of the other guards in the Gilas roster and pool. Tenorio’s stable quarterbacking contrasts quite clearly with both Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo, both fine playmakers,but more well renowned for their flash and scoring abilities.

In a sense, Tenorio seemed to provide Gilas with a well-tuned successor to legendary point guard Jimmy Alapag. While Tenorio did not having Alapag’s ability to shoot lights out from outside, Tenorio still potentially gives you that player that during a close game, you would entrust to give the ball to and lead Gilas to good possessions and key baskets late. As stated above, Tenorio is the best playmaker and passer currently playing in the Philippines, and that status is not one to scoff off with the many talented point guards currently playing in various circles within the Philippine basketball scene.

Tenorio (middle) won the MVP award at the 2012
William Jones Cup. 

Tenorio’s finest hour in his basketball career has to be his exploits in carrying Gilas to defeating a selection of American basketball players in the 2012 William Jones Cup. Tenorio made key baskets, seemingly at ease, and led Gilas to winning the Jones Cup. It was the first time a Philippine basketball team won the annual tournament held in Taiwan since current Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone’s Centennial Team won the tournament in 1998. Tenorio's display all through the tournament won him the honor of tournament MVP to go along with Gilas' championship.

Safe to say that Baldwin and Gilas will miss that play, guts and ability to deliver in the clutch this July.

With Abueva, it is hard to find a starting point with regards to talking about what “The Beast” can bring to the table. Abueva, even at 6-2, has proven that he plays above his height in the PBA. Abueva brings non stop hustle, non stop grit, and has that uncanny ability to always piss off his opponents. Abueva has the strength and athleticism to more than hang on against taller and bigger forwards, as he has done during his PBA career against taller locals and even imports. Abueva has energy to last for seemingly endless periods, and brings forth that trademark “angas” style of play popular in outdoor leagues all across the Philippines.

Abueva had a successful showing for Gilas during the
William Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Tournament showing
last year. 

Abueva more than answered his critics last year in the FIBA Asia Championship, who mostly scoffed at his ability to play internationally considering his lack of knock-down outside shot, with stellar play for Gilas. Abueva showed the skills of a swingman; easily using his strength and athleticism to drive to the rim for scores or drawing fouls, while defensively being athletic enough to bang and compete with the aforementioned taller big men. Abueva was able to leap seeming skyscraper-level heights to grab rebounds against opposing big men, and along with Romeo was clearly the revelation for Gilas last summer.

The two cuts led to mass shock and uproar across social media circles among Filipino basketball fans. The two players play for two of the most popular teams in the PBA, Tenorio with Barangay Ginebra and Abueva with Alaska, and the large fanbases expressed outward shock and anger. As an advent sports observer, I can compare the shocks (due to Abueva’s cut in particular admittedly), to the shock and uproar expressed by American soccer fans after United States men’s soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann cut Landon Donovan from his 2014 World Cup squad.

Still, despite clearly observing that Tenorio and Abueva brought to the table, the two still presented considerable risks with inclusion to the Gilas squad set to take on France and New Zealand - height for both players, and the oft-chance and risk that Abueva’s height and approach, which again worked well against Asian opposition, won’t work against the bigger and more skilled big men Gilas is set to face.

In a short tournament (Gilas would play only two more games at most should the team get the results needed to advance against France and New Zealand; Turkey, Canada and Senegal lie waiting in the other group), it is important to mitigate the chances of risk and play a more safer approach.

Tenorio lies at 5-8, and while his height has not impacted his ability offensively, his defense is not his strong suit to say the least. Even with Tenorio’s previous successes with Gilas, his defense was continually exposed by both Asian- and world-level opposition. You can understand Baldwin potentially fearing that Tenorio not being of much use on one side of the game could impact Gilas more in a short-tournament setting like what the Olympic Qualifier will bring, as compared to a five-game group setting that the FIBA World Cup in 2014 brought.

Along with Tenorio’s height, Gilas already had other options at the guard spot, who while they may not have brought Tenorio’s proven skills quarterbacking an offense, his spot in the lineup could be replaced with taller guards who are still capable playmakers, but provide greater size in potentially swinging over to the shooting guard spot.

In short, Gilas had other options that could offer greater flexibility than what Tenorio and his size could have offered.

Ryan Reyes, Tenorio's likely competition for a spot with
Gilas Pilipinas. Reyes' greater position flexibility and defense
likely contributed to Tenorio's doom.

Looking at the guard spot, Castro and Romeo were locks. Castro, a member of the FIBA Asia Mythical Team (team of the tournament) for two FIBA Asia Championship’s running, and Romeo were easy locks for being among the twelve selected for the final Gilas squad.

Tenorio’s likely competition for a spot in the GIlas lineup was Talk N Text swing-guard Ryan Reyes. When comparing the two, Tenorio was clearly the better playmaker, but Reyes brought a lot to the table as well: ability to play both the point and off-guard spot, superior slashing ability and superior outside shooting. Reyes has consistently been, well when healthy at least, one of the best perimeter defenders in the PBA during the course of his career. Reyes, with his perimeter defense and outside shooting, provides Gilas a capable replacement for San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter, and provides Baldwin with his favored trademark preference for flexibility. Reyes' strong showing against Iran in one of Gilas' tune-up games surely helped his chances and hurt Tenorio's.

In short, when dissecting Tenorio’s chances, his cut makes more sense. Tenorio was always on the bubble of making the cut for Gilas, and he was one of the more popular picks to be cut once the Gilas pool was cut to fourteen before the team began their European training camp. The abundance of guards and his size countered Tenorio’s bank of experience playing for Gilas, and his status as one of the best playmakers in the Philippines.

Abueva meanwhile suffered the same fate due to largely the same reason Tenorio managed to get cut. As mentioned, Abueva stands at 6-2 tall, and despite having played a capable power forward in the PBA, is undersized at that position even for PBA standards. While it is clear that Abueva can more than play as a power forward with effectiveness against Philippine opposition, and that Abueva can more than play as a power forward with effectiveness against Asian-level opposition, the question whether Abueva can do the same against international and non-Asian level opposition rings true.

Following up on that, it also begs the question, at Abueva’s size and going up against opposing big men that can be as much as nine inches taller than him, could Abueva’s game that has been reliant on using his athleticism to make up for a difference in height, as well as endless hustle and grind translate internationally? Abueva also doesn’t have the skill-set to play full-time as a guard, where his size could be more appropriate when facing international-level opponents.

These questions seemed to have sealed Abueva’s fate as being one of the last two out for Gilas this summer. The greater risk present in playing Abueva in this tournament seemed to have doomed Abueva. A weak reason in a way, but understandable in a way as well.

One wonders who Abueva was really in competition against for a spot in Gilas. Was it the two Talk N Text forwards in Ranidel de Ocampo and Troy Rosario, as well as Purefoods forward Marc Pingris? With the three standing at 6’5, 6’7 and 6’6 respectively, the three have the more appropriate size to play a forward position than Abueva.

Ray Parks, the son of legendary PBA import Bobby Parks and
former UAAP MVP with NU, set to make his debut
for the senior national team in the Olympic Qualifiers.

Was it young Texas Legend and former National University Bulldog and UAAP MVP Ray Parks, who can play either the point guard, off-guard and small-forward spot at 6’4 with youth on his size? The merits of either player are certainly debatable, and taking Abueva with more professional experience over Parks could have been the smarter play for Baldwin. Still, Parks brings Baldwin’s proven favored trait in positional flexibility, and that was probably that when deciding between Parks and Abueva.

The circumstances will never be known, and will probably be buried between Tenorio and Abueva and the coaching staff, but one has to wonder how and why the coaching staff came to their conclusions.

It has to be said again, no one won with the cuts. Certainly not Tenorio and Abueva, certainly not Baldwin, and neither do the fans. The shock and uproar has been clear, with even extreme motions to root against Gilas and boycott Gilas having made public.

Such circumstances like this are essentially the consequence of coaching the national basketball team of the Philippines, a basketball-loving country with a deep pool of talent all across the country, potentially the deepest pool of talent all across Asia. This wasn’t the first time such cuts will cause surprise and anger across the Philippines, and this certainly won’t be the last time.

One can only hope that the uproar and shock will die down soon, within a week more specifically as Gilas begins their arduous journey to receive the Philippines’ first Olympic berth since 1972.

The United States' Copa America Centenario: Success with a Sprinkling of Disappointment

The United States saluting fans after the 4-0 win in the
group stage over CONCACAF rivals Costa Rica

Reviewing the United States’ run in the recently-ended Copa America Centenario is a pretty complicated task.

On one hand, the feeling of fulfilment and success is evident and clear - the United States did after all reach the semi-finals of the biggest tournament held on American soil since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The United States did end up as semi-finalists in a major tournament a year after a tumultuous and long year in 2015, which included finishing fourth in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The win over Ecuador in the quarter-finals in Seattle will forever be remembered by those who witnessed one of the finer United States performances in years.

Still, with all that being said, there remained a feeling of more to be desired, particularly relating to the performance in the semi-finals against Argentina, granted a world soccer giant. Questions regarding the ability to not just beat, but stand a chance of competing with the elite sides of the world as we head closer to the 2018 World Cup in Russia remain and persist. Concerns regarding the integration of new younger squad members, as well as shoring up the depth of the side still exist.

In short, while the successes of the tournament for the United States are evident and can easily be seen, there remains a sprinkling of disappointments over the United States' Copa America Centenario run that could loom large over the next few years.

The successes in the tournament can’t be denied. Beyond the semi-final finish, the United States did end up winning their group, which during the tournament’s prelude was said by many observers to be the toughest group in the tournament by far (and those observations weren’t far off at all; Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica provided the United States the easy pickings in at least a top two nation in each group pot), defeated a very strong Ecuador side in the quarter-finals, and saw the United States displaying a new brand of confidence (save for the Argentina match) not seen in some time.

New faces also emerged as key cornerstones for the United States in future qualifying matches and tournaments.

Hertha Berlin's John Anthony Brooks solidified himself as the
USA's top center back for both the present and future.

John Brooks legitimized himself as the man in defense both for the present and the future. Coming off a tough Gold Cup last year, United States fans had doubts about the effectiveness of Brooks internationally, and whether the young German-American talent would be able to translate his improved form with Hertha Berlin into the national team. Brooks more than quelled those fears, showing great positioning and poise in the back, as well as a capable platform to start possessions at the back, a problem with this team for a long time. Brooks partnered well with Stoke City’s Geoff Cameron, a potential partnership that could lead to being one of the United States’ strength's should the team reach the World Cup two years from now.  

Meanwhile up front, Bobby Wood emerged as a clear threat up front. Not only did Wood use his speed to threaten defenses, as well as a top hold-up threat, but Wood’s presence opened up space countless times for the ageless Clint Dempsey to operate up front, helping in Dempsey’s three goal tournament haul. While fans will want to see more of Wood and consistency, at the very least Wood will help strengthen the depth of the United States’ forward position, which should help a lot heading into Russia 2018.

Seattle Sounders' Clint Dempsey and Colorado Rapids'
Jermaine Jones, both ageless wonders who look to contribute
more for the United States.

Speaking of Dempsey, doesn’t it feel like blasphemy that there were many calling for his benching heading into the Copa America? After Dempsey’s tournament, doesn’t that all seem ridiculous now?

Dempsey, and fellow veteran Jermaine Jones (spurned on by a hot start with the surprising Colorado Rapids) proved that age is just a number, and that the two have more to give to the national team as we head into the back-end of a World Cup cycle.

Dempsey was still the familiar deadly finisher up front, while Jones provided his trademark hustle in the midfield, constantly pressuring opponents. Jones’ absence for the Argentina match due to a red card obtained in the quarter-final against Ecuador was particularly noticeable. It is clear the two will be factors in the World Cup squad should the United States qualify, whether as starters or as bench options.

It has to be said, the United States was helped by a greater consistency with the squad selection shown by Klinsmann. It felt, weird really seeing Klinsmann settle with a familiar starting lineup unless changes were necessary. After all, United States fans have been familiar in expressing their dismay in Klinsmann trying out players in unfamiliar positions, that a constant approach in the starting eleven shown by Klinsmann was just weird.

Still, Klinsmann’s insistence to stick to the same starting lineup during the three group stage matches, then making only necessary changes along the defense thanks to DeAndre Yedlin’s sending off against Paraguay in the final group stage game, really helped the United States. It was also clear  that the wholesale changes for the Argentina match hurt the United States, even as the changes were necessary due to suspensions for Jones, Wood and Alejandro Bedoya.

One can only hope that Klinsmann will stick to a more consistent approach in figuring out the lineup during the rest of this cycle, allowing the team to settle into a more constant groove and making things easier for the players.

Still, disappointments were still seen and experienced, and in some ways there was a general lack of fulfillment in some sense for American fans. It feels weird to equate some sense of disappointment in a tournament featuring the Americas where the United States finished as a semi-finalist, but it was still evident.

The United States were outclassed comprehensively
in the semi-finals against Lionel Messi and Argentina.
The United States failed to muster up a shot during the
course of the game. 

Starting with the Argentina match, while the United States reaching the semi-finals was an unquestioned success, how the match with Argentina played out can’t be mentioned in the same sentence as “success”. The United States looked like they did not belong on the same pitch as Argentina, clearly incapable of maintaining possession or even threatening the Argentinians. The United States very easily succumbed to the pressure put forth by the strong Argentinian midfield, as well as incapable of stringing together a simple pass sequence.

The display was gutless, with the United States having failed at even getting one single shot (not at goal) on the Argentinian defense. The showing felt like a lost opportunity, particularly with a large pro-American crowd at the NRG Stadium in Houston, large television audience around the country, and the fact that the United States really had nothing to lose against Argentina. A more open, daring approach would have been best.

The display against Argentina leads to this question: are you more confident of managing to nab a result against a true elite team (Argentina, Germany, Belgium, France, etc) should the United States qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and make it out of their group? Is the United States, in the midst of what Klinsmann has sold as a “soccer revolution”, closer to competing with those type of teams? Has the United States progressed to a point beyond what was seen during the Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley days with regards to beating or playing even with elite teams, as was seen in the match against Germany in the 2002 World Cup, Italy in the 2006 World Cup, or Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup?

The answer to all those questions has to be a clear “NO”. While that factor shouldn’t dilute and take away from the success experienced by the side in the Copa America, it still leaves a feeling of unfulfillment for fans and everyone around the side. Coming closer to beating the elite teams in the world, and changing the United States’ approach for matches against those teams will probably be an issue that will be left at the desk of whoever will replace Klinsmann, most likely after the 2018 World Cup.

The tournament also didn’t fully answer and address the concerns of being a team far too reliant on older stars, being in the midst of a transition generation, and a satisfactory number of new talent emerging as key contributors for both the present and future. While it can be said that the play of both Dempsey and Jones contributed to the success of the United States in the tournament, and also the emergence of Brooks and Wood as contributors for both the present and future, the concerns of being a team far too reliant on older talent still wasn’t completely addressed.

Another disappointing tournament for United States captain
Michael Bradley

It should be an indictment on Klinsmann, who did coach a fine tournament owing to his greater consistency with the approach of selecting a starting eleven, that Chris Wondolowski and Kyle Beckerman remained key parts of the squad. It should be an indictment on Klinsmann that the team has no options in replacing a poorly-performing Michael Bradley, who had a third straight poor tournament appearance for the United States. Perhaps it is time that Bradley’s status as a sure-fire starter and captain be revisited.

Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic, both talented young
players who probably should have received more action
in the Copa America Centenario.

Fans clamored for more time and faith shown for young attackers in Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic. Pulisic, the young Borussia Dortmund talent, got meaningful substitute minutes while Nagbe, the talented Portland Timbers midfield maestro, got limited minutes. Both players look to be important players for the American attack in the future, and the integration of the two in the first team needs to be a priority moving forward.

These issues must lie squarely at the foot of Klinsmann. The American soccer talent pool has never been deeper than it is today. Even though it is a fair point to make that the top-end of that said pool may not be as strong as it was in 2002 or 2005 or 2010, there are more and more Americans playing top-division level soccer around the world, and not having addressed the concerns of adequate squad depth is an issue that falls on Klinsmann. The approach of coaching a national side, particularly with a talent pool as deep as the United States’, like a club side is an outdated approach.

The Copa America came at a precarious time for the United States, right in the middle of the 2018 World Cup cycle and being in a position where qualification to the Hexagonal stage of the CONCACAF qualifiers is still not guaranteed. The United States have two games left in the second round of CONCACAF qualifying, away at St. Vincent and the Grenadines and at home against Trinidad & Tobago. While it is fair to expect the United States should easily qualify for the Hexaognal stage, the importance of these two remaining games is still clear.

United States head coach Jurgen
Klinsmann. 

Again however, it has to be said that Klinsmann coached a good tournament. Consistency and positional sanity finally prevailed in Klinsmann’s mind. The United States played smart, effective and efficient soccer throughout most of the tournament. These are good omens for the important qualification matches set to challenge the United States in the coming year.

The feeling of success surrounding the United States can’t be understated and undermined. Despite all that has been said about mistakes, shortcomings and frustrations with the team during the Copa America, the United States still did finish fourth in a Copa America. The United States still did match their best-ever finish in a Copa America, tying the 1995 United States side’s fourth place finish in Uruguay. The United States still played inspired soccer, and has also inspired a greater confidence from the fanbase after a rather rough year in 2015.

We can only hope that the success of the United States’ Copa America campaign will serve the side well and help the team in qualification for the World Cup in 2018.

No winners in SBP, PBA spat over FIBA 2019 qualifying

Even in a midst of a period that should have Filipino basketball fans feeling optimism and good vibes with the hosting of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers just over a month away, the news of the Samahang Basketbol de Pilipinas, stated by chairman Manny Pangilinan, going with an all-cadet team to try and qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup has left a lot of Filipino basketball fans confused and largely pondering what is next. Such a return to an all-cadet program, similar to the old Northern Cement Philippine team during the 80s and the original Smart Gilas 1.0 program from 2009 to 2011, will leave off PBA players from representing the Philippines.

In this situation, let me be frank, no one wins.

Beginning with the Filipino basketball fans, the chance to see PBA stars represent the country and don the national colors for Gilas (which can be said has shown to be a proven record for success based on the silver medals obtained by the Philippines in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Asia Championships, as well as Gilas’ creditable showing in the 2014 FIBA World Cup) is all but off the table. Is that worth the fact that Gilas games will finally be played on home soil more often than a one-off tournament?

Not in my opinion.

The PBA too, while it may seem that they may enjoy the fact that they won’t have to loan players for the national team and thus avoid what has proven to be a sore sticking point for various clubs, will lose.

Case in point, this upcoming PBA Draft will prove to be extremely shallow. Collegiate stars such as Kiefer Ravena, Mac Belo, Kevin Ferrer, Jio Jalalon and others, who all made up the core of the Gilas Cadet squads who won the SEABA championship just last week and will likely make up the core of the upcoming Gilas Cadet squads, will not ply their trade in the PBA. The PBA, despite having many stars themselves playing, will lose out on a batch of new rising talents, and that will almost certainly not make the PBA and it’s mother teams happy.

Now, it must be said that Pangilinan is not in the wrong for threatening to go with this measure, and that Pangilinan and the SBP deserves the right to cover themselves in the case of not having a creditable pool of players to pick from if all goes down under. The issues with regards of trying to get PBA mother teams to be willing to let players play for the national team will not be avoided. Injuries due to the incredibly long PBA season will now be avoided. There will be no more 10-to-11 month season (across 3 conferences of tournaments) that will cause key talents to be hurt and miss out on playing for the national team, such was the case with Rain or Shine star and Finals MVP Paul Lee.

However, even he does not not win in this case, and while the SBP will have their own free reign in players, you can’t come up with a coherent rationale in believing that going with an all-cadet lineup will prove to be a better option going up against fellow Asian and Pacific elite competition than going up tried-and-tested and proven professionals.

Other leagues in Asia, all of which don’t go 10 to 11 months like the PBA, will find it easier to adjust their schedules, and an all-amateur and all-collegiate national team may find it difficult to try and grind out wins against teams like Australia and New Zealand (you probably forgot those two giants would be joining Asia’s FIBA region for qualifying), not to mention fellow Asian giants such as China and Iran.

Ideally, a little negotiation and compromise between the necessary basketball stakeholders in the Philippines, namely the PBA and the SBP, would suffice and lead to letting all the fear that has accumulated (to the point of having me write this article) over the past few days whimper into the thin air. As stated above, no side truly wins long-term, and it is unfortunate that such measures are looking likely.

Perhaps the SBP could draw up a list of players that would comprise the core of the future national teams, now where those players could play would be another issue, but at the same time the PBA itself draws a list of players that would be given the green light by mother teams to play for the national team even in bad scheduling windows.

Perhaps the PBA could also commit to adjusting their schedule, finally getting rid of the much-panned 3-conference format that has dragged on the season for far too long and has led to players increasingly getting fatigued and getting hurt, and the PBA will miss out on the rumored mass pull-out of collegiate stars in the upcoming PBA Draft, ensuring a new batch of fresh faces will don PBA team jerseys.

The fact remains, the best players in the Philippines all play in the PBA. While guys like Ravena, Belo and Ferrer might one day be one of the best players in the league or in the Philippines, they simply aren’t yet. Hedging all your bets on a team full of talented and promising, yet unproven players with no support from the best players in the country to try and qualify for the World Cup seems like a foolish proposition, which makes the looming necessity of such a measure even more unfortunate.

Going back to 2011, despite a fine semi-final finish for the majority-amateur Smart Gilas team coached by Raijko Toroman, the team still failed in their goal for reaching the London Olympics. You can also make the legitimate point that the reason Gilas made it all the way to reaching the semi-finals were due to the presence of four PBA players in the team in Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo, Kelly Williams and Asi Taulava. Despite the four pros having came to Gilas only in the last minute (quite literally) and not having prepared for Toroman’s system, the four still logged the most minutes for Gilas and played key roles.

At the same time, the SBP and Gilas now features more leverage than before to try and force the PBA to compromise through any means deemed fit. The recent successes of Gilas, through the two straight silver medal finishes in Asian competition in 2013 and 2015, as well as the riveting run during the FIBA World Cup in 2014, along with Jones Cup successes with the title in 2012 and a strong runner-up finish in 2014, has captivated the Filipino basketball fanbase. Even if certain Juan De La Cruz is not an avid watcher of the PBA these days, Juan surely watched Gilas and rooted for the national team on.

Such advantages was not present during the days of the original Smart Gilas program from 2009 to 2011, where the national team (bannered by PBA stars) limped to disappointing finishes in the 2007 and 2009 FIBA Asia tournaments. If such a situation like what is occurring now were to have occurred then, the PBA would have laughed the SBP and Gilas out of the room.

The PBA also benefitted from the successes of the Gilas program. Attendance increased after Gilas’ silver medal finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, yet fell again after the issues that blossomed when it came to getting players from the San Miguel Corporation bloc of PBA teams in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship. Whether or not the reasons for the rise and fall in attendance were directly related to those reasons and events can’t be proven, but the coincidence can’t be ignored.

Fact is that the PBA is not the perfect entity that it could simply ignore the SBP in any case. While the product on the court is strong, and the current generation of players are talented and are all skilled, the league has had issues off the court en masse over the past few years. Playoff and finals attendance hasn’t been strong, as we saw with the attendance over the six games between Alaska and Rain or Shine in the latest finals.

In any case, both sides enjoy certain advantages with regards to this issue that the other side desperately needs. And while both sides may not realize it, both sides probably still do need each other. For the situation to unfold as has been unfolding over the past few days were to occur, no one in Philippine basketball wins.

Not the fans, not Gilas and the SBP, and no, not even the PBA.

For a basketball country that has rarely seen unity among  stakeholders, a development that has capped the potential for the Philippines as a basketball country for so long, such unity would do nothing but good for all parties.

And no one would appreciate that more than the Filipino fanbase.