IT made no sense at all.
From the beginning, there was nothing to fight about. Why the game has been held at all needs a review of the current format if only to guide us in our future tournaments?
Both Gilas Pilipinas and Australia have already advanced to the next round of the Fiba World Qualifiers even before the first whistle was blown in their ill-fated July 2 battle at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Pitting them was just a waste of money and time.
Australia had to fly here to meet Gilas. Really, millions of pesos were spent for nothing; alas and alack, the logistics went up in a cloud of useless smoke.
Instead of alloting that all-too precious money for costs of tickets, hotel bookings, food and operational expenses, would it not have mattered a lot if the moolah were diverted to finance charitable projects instead, both here and in Australia?
That way, there would have been more meaning infused abundantly to basketball diplomacy for the benefit of humankind.
In the first place, a win by either side would have amounted to nothing.
In the second place, the outcome would not have altered their positions overall.
No medal to cherish.
No advancement in rank.
No nothing.
If at all, it was just a TV exposure to showcase the Filipinos’ undying love for a game it could never ever dominatne on the world stage anyways.
The reason is obvious: height. But thas has been the same crazy reason we consistently refuse to accept for the longest time.
Prestige? Maybe. Beating Australia is, OK, big deal. Is it 50 rungs or so higher than us in world basketball?
But so what?
Still, nothing is sweeter than winning a trophy.
And a third-place metal wasn’t even at stake in that game that was supposed to be a non-game for its sheer unimportance in the overall scheme of things.
Look what happened instead.
A rumble that blackened basketball’s badge of dignity globally.
Enough of the finger-pointing. We are all to blame for this mess.
Our love affair with basketball has always been that twisted.
Who said we’d win in the Fiba Worlds, Olympics?
Let’s stick to the PBA. Our reality. Our house.