Still behind

If anything, the current non-televised Asian Games is proving on a basketball level that, though we can compete, we still cannot win enough to reclaim our spot as one of the sport’s powerhouses this side of the continent.

A blowout 48-65 loss to Iran, win over Qatar, 58-60 loss to Japan

So far, we were blown out (48-65) by back-to-back FIBA Asia champions Iran which played minus its star center Hamed Haddadi but still dominated enough inside to limit SG center Asi Taulava to ONE rebound. Then came the relieving win over Qatar which always had the athletes, but never the system to truly be a contender, before finally bowing in a tight game versus Japan 58-60.

What’s wrong?

A lot of things, since it’s been two-three years and we still haven’t won or at least made a dent in anything. Though SG looks much sharper when it comes to basic half-court plays, you could see that most of the players look tentative and hesitant—almost like they’re waiting for someone to takeover.

Whatever happened to Andy Barroca’s iso-offense? That used to be Toroman’s only play on offense (when SG participated in the PBA and also in other earlier tournaments). How about the “improvements” of Greg Slaughter? Having him buddy-up with Asi Taulava will only hurt his game, if only because Taulava doesn’t have a solid post game to speak of and skill-per-skill, is not even a better player than the PBA’s Barako Bull’s Dennis Daa (but height and heft does make a big difference in the PBA so…).

Surely, you’d think that Sol Mercado would’ve been plugged into the Barroca role by now since how hard is it for a coach to give his best ball handler the basketball, tell everyone to get the F out of the way and create?

Also, I have a difficult time believing that Chris Tiu is this team’s best player. I still feel that this team, the plays and the whole system, is being centered around, with all due respect, MVP’s favorite pitchman—who despite his big heart, cannot even be considered as a future PBA starter (too slow to run the point, too short to play SG against the pro’s best).

Conspiracy theories aside, SG needs to play with more fire and less fear of making mistakes. We all know that Mercado is a ball-hogging volume scorer who tries his best to orchestrate (when his true calling is that of a Nelson Asaytono heir), so let him be. Kelly Williams needs to run, Tiu is the de facto spot-up shooter while Slaughter and Taulava need to learn to bang in the post. Casio is a solid back-up point guard, but not against tall, quick players. Perhaps they could try playing Mercado and Tiu together more, with Mercado orchestrating and creating, while Tiu serves as his kick-out option.

Or perhaps, the best solution now that there’s an actual program to build on, is to retool and get BETTER players.