Basketball is not for Filipinos?!
As retired Col. Julian Malonso, a former Philippine Olympic Committee president, said: “Basketball is not the sport for the Filipinos because height counts much. We should concentrate more on football mainly because the ball is on the ground.”
Ooooh. OUCH!
This comment is actually shared and written at length by Manolo Iñigo of the Inquirer in his July 18 article where he says our lack of height takes away our edge in the international basketball tournaments.
Iñigo writes that we should concentrate on golf, chess, bowling, tennis, boxing, billiards and other sports where Filipinos have received international acclaim. At least that’s what Manolo Iñigo alludes to in this article.
Now I do admit our basketball teams haven’t seen success outside of the Philippines, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, right? Philippine basketball is not just about winning the Olympics, (at least not for me and maybe for a lot of fans) rather it’s more about the home teams, the spirit of competition, the excitement of a good game (including all the brawls common to the Filipino version). Philippine basketball is about giving the kids on the street something relevant, being able to dream that they can achieve too, just like their PBA/L stars. It’s about competing in the “liga” (local leagues and tournaments) in small barrios and villages on warm summer fiesta nights. Basketball is the country’s number one sport not because we are internationally famed, but because we love the game. We even love the NBA, for crying out loud.
Basketball is for the Filipinos.
Tags: Basketball, billiards, bowling, boxing, chess, golf, National Basketball Assoc., Phil. Basketball Assoc., Phil. Basketball League, Philippine culture, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippines
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POSTED IN: Philippine Sports
July 30th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Well I guess the guy, being the Philippine Olympic Committee President, was talking in the context of international competitions. It’s really unfortunate in a way that the we Filipinos love a sport that requires height to be competitive internationally. Nothing is stopping us from loving the game but if you look at it in perspective of international competitions and the fact that our athletes can only really focus on one sport, it would benefit the country better to focus on other sports where height has little or no factor in excelling.
But heck if our national team can beat the German team (forgot when exactly this happened but I was laughing at it for days when it did) then it’s a good sign. =p
July 31st, 2006 at 3:11 am
basketball aside, i think filipinos should give football a try, too. it’s a sport that, let’s face it, fits the pinoy stature better. and like boxing, it’s a sport one can train for without too much financial investment (some south american and african teams train pretty much on the streets)…
July 31st, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Ruth, by football you mean what Americans call soccer, don’t you? Not American football (where Pinoys will definitely get pounded to the ground) :)
But I do agree with you. Soccer/football would be a great sport for Pinoys.
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:54 am
yes, sorry. i meant soccer, not rugby.
August 5th, 2006 at 3:18 am
with regard to chess, look at the number of grandmasters we have; it’s only 6 to date but balinas has already castled in the heavens. and in the july fide rating, no filipino is in the top 100. well, paragua was there in the previous months but missed out the july ed by just a couple of points. and these points are earned by playing in international events and not in our native land. can you imagine how much it will cost for our player to play abroad?
but in the recent olympiad in italy, the ratings did not apply. for example, paragua got a draw with kamsky of usa in a game that he is statistically bound to lose based on their rating difference! torre, antonio, dimakiling and the boy wonder wesley so did the same.
give thse guys more international exposure and we will be a great nation in chess.
look at china. they send their players abroad and even organize international events in their soil and the result is 6 super-grandmasters! they even placed 2nd in the world team championship a few months ago!
August 7th, 2006 at 11:36 am
Raul, seems like you know your chess well! we do need more exposure for chess and, as Ruth also commented, maybe also soccer and other less-exposed sports where we also excel.
let’s not stop cheering for our athletes, whether they’re a winning team or not. they need our support!
December 17th, 2006 at 3:45 am
mr.malonso….are you okay?instead of barking,i think you should find a way to help our national players in the field of basketball.hey,during the time of the great mr.caloy loyzaga,the famed mr.jaworski and a lot more…we do compete huh!considering the height,yes it’s true…height is might…but don’t ever forget that sometimes,small things are more terrible!!!think about that sir?!!!
January 4th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
[…] There’s nothing like the excitement of Philippine basketball. It’s not about the height of the Filipino players, but the heart they bring to the game. Filipinos are obsessed about basketball. Williams is in for a great time: He’s a super star in the Philippines. […]
March 12th, 2007 at 12:36 am
NO DOUBT basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines - no doubt due to the American influence during the colonization (especially during the mental colonization) period. Majority of Filipinos don’t give a damn about baseball (where our Little Leaguers dominate) or even football/soccer - undoubtedly the world’s most popular sport. Basketball is easy. And Filipinos love the underdog stature in international competitions. We are the Davids of Basketball to slay the Giants like CHINA!
August 7th, 2007 at 6:24 am
As for a basketball fan like me, I’d say, why give up? Nothing’s impossible :) It’s all about heart!
October 24th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I completely agree that basketball is not for us. Think about it, we import half filipinos just to get more height in our teams and the real filipinos that really working hard are just sitting in the sideline. When i was young i used to play basketball and volleyball but height is very important and i know i cannot compete that much, they i trained in table tennis, chess, sepak takraw and badminton, which suites my physic.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:25 am
“Basketball is not only played by tall people” Filipinos really loved the game! It’s not all about height, it’s the fun in playing the game. I know that our National team players are smaller than their Chinese, European and American counterparts. But don’t lose hope! Now, we have young, tall and talented players to anchor our future National Team like: 6′5 Gabe Norwood, 6′ 11 Gregory Slaughter, 6′10 Japeth Aguilar, 6′9 Gian Chiu, 7′0 Ronnie Aguilar, 6′5 Nick Stephens, 6′6 Kelly Williams. See! we should be proud! even were not that tall like the Chinese or the Iranians, Europeans and Americans. But we still have the heart to represent our country in International Competitions like the FIBA Qualifying tournament, Jones Cup, Fiba Olympic qualifying, Asian Games and hopefully the Olympics. It’s a great feeling watching our National team Competing in these Competitions. “Pilipinas Astig!” Laban para sa Bayan! Laban.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Let us not also forget the like of Yancy de Ocampo 6′9, Samigue eman 6′9, J. Washington 6′8, KG Canaleta 6′8..there’s still plenty of active PBA player that are 6′7 above..they may provide good core…We can fight them…we can prove to the world again that we filipinos have been on the top (third place) of the basketball world.