JONES CUP AFTERMATH: WHO IS GUIAO FOOLING?

The Powerade Team Pilipinas came home last Monday beaten black and blue from the recently-concluded 31st William Jones Cup Basketball Championship in Taipeh. The Nationals posted a shameful over-all record of two wins against six losses. Their only wins came at the expense of lowly squads Kazakhstan (represented by its develomental pool) and Chinese-Taipeh B (also a developmental team). Blowout defeats came at the hands of Tianjin-bound teams of Jordan, 90-59, Lebanon, 95-83 and Iran, 85-60.

And now, coach Yeng Guiao is singing a different tune as the Nationals take a week of rest before embarking on its main mission, the FIBA Asian Championship in Tianjin, China on August 6-16. Guiao stated that he feels confident as we will see a renewed Powerade squad come the qualifying tourney for the FIBA World Championships in Turkey next year. But who is he fooling? His arrogance in predicting a surprise finish for the Nationals in Tianjin is a big slap on the face of Filipino cage buffs. What does he think of his countrymen’s basketball minds? There is no way Powerade Team Pilipinas will reach the semis of the Tianjin tourney. This writer picks host China, defending champion Iran and the ever-improving Jordan to represent Asia in the World championships. Lebanon most likely shall finish a strong fourth place.

Politics and lack of preparations are the main culprits in the Nationals’ disappointing performance in Taipeh. The team was doomed from the very start or from the time it was assembled. The Jones Cup stint exposed the very poor outside shooting and the inability to adapt to international brand of play. Local sharpshooters like Jimmy Alapag, Renren Ritualo and Mac Cardona were left off from the team in lieu of Guiao’s former boys at Red Bull and current players from his Burger King team.

During the 2007 Jones Cup, the Nationals with coach Chot Reyes at the helm, finished with a record of 5-4 win-loss slate and a highlight of its stint was the lopsided victory over host Chinese-Taipeh squad. This time around, Chinese-Taipeh A team easily outplayed the Nationals in all aspects of the game. They came into the tourney oozing with a false sense of confidence after sweeping a third rate SEABA tournament featuring Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The team was praised to high heavens left and right upon returning home where in truth even a ragtag PBL selection could have easily bagged the championship.

Preparing for the Asian Championships should not be taken half-heartedly. Our strong Asian rivals had been playing together for the last three years at the very least. So how did Guiao and the Powerade Team Pilipinas conducted their preparations? In all, the team played a total tune-up games leading to the Jones Cup of nine games (3 games in the PBA All-Star festivities, 2 games against a second rate Aussie selection, 3 forgettable outings in SEABA and a game against the American bible-preaching team Soldiers-For-Christ AIA squad). On the other hand, the Middle-East powerhouses and eastern Asian giants geared up their preparations competing in the tough US and European circuits.

So just a piece of advise to Guiao, it will not hurt more if he just says that the least the team can do is to try its very best in the coming Tianjin joust. That would be enough for the intelligent Filipino basketball fans. The whole country had already accepted the fate of the Powerade Team Pilipinas. And for sure, there is no false sense of hope this time around.