2012 was a
great year for international ball. We had the Olympics, the FIBA World
Championships for Boys, the Jones Cup, and several other noteworthy tourneys.
In this post, we’ll look at the events that distracted us from our usual dose
of NBA and local hoops, and we’ll look at the teams, the players, and the
headlines that made us scream at the top of our lungs (cheering or jeering) out
of patriotic pride.
Indonesia Warriors win the 2012 ASEAN Basketball
League crown
For the
third straight year, a Filipino team made it to the ABL Finals, but, for the
second straight year, that Filipino team fell short of copping the championship
trophy.
Led by,
ironically, Filipino-American spitfire Stanley Pringle, the Indonesia Warriors
scalped the San Miguel Beermen in three games to bring the ABL crown home toJakarta. Pringle led the way in Game 3 with 28 points, while American imports
Evan Brock and Steve Thomas combined for 25 markers. Two other Pinoy imports,
Jerick Cañada and Allan Salangsang, proved vital for Indonesia’s cause. Native
Indons on the Warriors’ roster combined for just 11 points in the deciding game
(Mario Wuysang, Arki Wisnu, and Amin Prihantono).
In their
first ABL season, the Beermen did really well by advancing to the Finals, where
they were the slight favorites to take the crown back to Manila – a Pinoy team,
the Air Asia Philippine Patriots, won the ABL Championship in its maiden season
in 2010. Import Duke Crews led the way in Game 3 for SMB with 29 points while
Pringle’s fellow Fil-Am rival, Chris Banchero, poured in 16 markers.
Indonesia’s
Todd Purves was named Coach of the Year, Steve Thomas was named Defensive
Player of the Year, while Evan Brock was feted as the Finals MVP. SMB’s Leo
Avenido was adjudged Season MVP.
Team USA cops Olympic Gold & the FIBA
Boys Tourney Championship
Team USA
continued to assert its dominance over the whole friggin’ world by winning two
major FIBA tournaments this year – the FIBA U17 World Championships and the
London Olympics Basketball Games.
Led by top
collegiate prospects Jahlil Okafor, Conner Frankamp, and Jabari Parker, the
American boys ran roughshod over the Aussies in the Final of the 2012 FIBA U17
tourney held in Lithuania. Okafor, a 6’11 behemoth from Arkansas, produced 17 points
and 8 rebounds for Team USA in the title game, while high-scoring point guard
Frankamp tossed in 22 markers on 7-of-9 FG shooting. Parker, one of the biggest
names on the roster, scored 12 points in just 14 minutes of play. The 6’8
17-year old combo-forward from Chicago, Illinois just announced his signing
with perennial NCAA powerhouse Duke University. He will be an eligible freshman
for the 2013-2014 NCAA season. His achievements have already been compared to
that of another Chicago native – Derrick Rose.
For his
part, Dante Exum, a 6’4 shooting guard out of Melbourne, led the Aussies with
21 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists on 8-of-17 FG shooting. This early, he’s
being eyed as a potential lottery draft pick in the NBA once he becomes
eligible in 2014. NCAA heavyweights Georgetown and Indiana have reportedly
tendered offers for him to play in their respective programs.
In the
London Olympics, Team USA remained the undisputed king by romping through the
competition and punching through undefeated, 8-0. They didn’t have the easiest
of times in a couple of games (they beat Lithuania by just 5 in the elims and
beat Spain by just 7 in the gold medal game), but it was clear they were the
heavy favorites to retain the title – and they did just that.
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| LeBron James and the Americans dominated the international basketball scene in 2012. (image from FIBA.com) |
Kevin Durant
was awesome in the final game, finishing with 30 points and 9 rebounds, while
Spain’s Pau Gasol netted 24 markers, 8 boards, and 7 dimes. LeBron James and
Kobe Bryant added 19 and 17 points respectively for the Americans, while Juan
Carlos Navarro and Marc Gasol scored 21 and 17 points respectively for the
Spaniards.
Energen Pilipinas places sixth in FIBA Asia
Boys Tourney
Team Energen
Pilipinas failed to improve or even duplicate the fifth place finish of the 2010
U18 national team after they lost to Taiwan in the battle for fifth place in
the 2012 FIBA Asia U18 Tournament in Mongolia.
The Pinoys
went 2-1 in the group stage, beating Saudi Arabia, 95-52, and Kazakhstan,
83-69, before bowing to a bigger Iranian squad, 72-93. They went undefeated in
the crossover second round, beating Indonesia, 88-62, Taiwan, 88-83, and
Bahrain, 99-72. Despite this, they wound up third in Group F after Iran was
upset by the Taiwanese, 78-77. This made Iran the top seed, while Taiwan gained
the second spot.
The Pinoys
faced old nemesis Korea in the quarterfinals and lost, 90-77, after the Koreans
pulled away in the third period. NBA prospect Lee Jong-Hyun led Korea with 26
points and 18 rebounds, while FEU-FERN’s Jerie Pingoy led Energen’s cause with
19 markers.
Team
Pilipinas rebounded against Lebanon, 80-69, to set-up the rematch with Taiwan
for fifth place. LSGH shooter Mario Bonleon led Energen with 19 points, while
Ateneo Blue Eagle G-Boy Babilonia grabbed 8 rebounds in their win over the
Lebanese.
The Pinoys
failed to repeat over the Taiwanese in the next game as their EABA rivals
swelled the gap, again, in the third canto. The duo of Fang Shih-En (6’8”) and
Lin Kuan-Chun (6’2”) ate up our frontline with a combined 38 points, 21
rebounds, and 8 steals on 13-of-19 FG shooting. NU’s Jay-J Alejandro led
Energen with 22 points, while Pingoy and Bonleon each contributed 15 markers.
Top Pinoy center Jay Javelosa was not able to play in this game due to injury.
Gilas wins the Jones Cup
Though the
2012 Jones Cup in Taiwan was meant to be a tune-up tournament from which the
Gilas boys were supposed to learn lessons, it became, instead, a beacon of hope
as coach Chot Reyes successfully steered the Philippine NT to the title.
In doing so,
coach Chot duplicated what coach Tim Cone was able to do with the 1998
Philippine Centennial Team – a team that finished third in the 1998 Asian
Games. Current Bgy. Ginebra starting point guard LA Tenorio came up big in the
final game against the United States, scoring 20 points, including the go ahead
pull-up jumper that sealed the historic win. Tenorio also grabbed 6 rebounds
and handed out 3 assists. Jeff Chan backed him up with 18 points on the
strength of 5 treys, while Marcus Douthit registered 17 markers, 12 boards, and
2 rejections.
Gilas won 7
of its 8 games in the tournament, losing only to Lebanon. Douthit was the
team’s best player, averaging about 16 points and 11 rebounds per outing. Chan
was the only other player who normed double-digit scoring with 11.6ppg. Despite
a slow start in the tournament, and playing behind Sol Mercado in the rotation
early on, Tenorio was named tournament MVP due to his delivery in the clutch.
This win
brought renewed faith in the Gilas program, and bolstered their chances for
placing well in the big tourney for which they were really preparing – the FIBA
Asia Cup in Tokyo.
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| The Gilas boys brought home the Jones Cup crown for the first time in 14 long years. (image from the Smart-Gilas Facebook page) |
Iran wins the FIBA Asia Cup
Despite
Gilas’s strong showing in the Jones Cup, they weren’t able to pull off another
stunner and win the FIBA Asia Cup in Japan. The championship, instead, went to
WABA powerhouse Iran, which was undefeated throughout the competition, 7-0.
Iran faced a
gritty Japanese home squad in the Finals. They had beaten the Japanese earlier
in the tournament in a tight contest, 71-65, and the Japanese gave them hell in
the championship match, too. Despite the usually potent pairing of Kosuke
Takeuchi and naturalized center JR Sakuragi having a tough time on offense, the
Nippon five kept in-step with Iran thanks to the sniping of young wingman
Kosuke Kanamaru. Kanamaru, who plays for the Panasonic Trians in the Japanese
Basketball League (the JBL, which is different from the BJ League, has
company-sponsored teams like the PBA; it will be re-structured into Japan’s
National Basketball League starting mid-2013), connected on 4 triples to lead
Japan’s charge with 16 points.
Iran,
however, played a bit more solid basketball in the endgame thanks to the
scoring of Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (who else?) and the imposing presence of
Asghar Kardoust. In the end, Iran narrowly beat Japan, 53-51, and took home its
first ever FIBA Asia Cup, which was formerly known as the FIBA Asia Stankovic
Cup.
Gilas
faltered in the battle for third, losing to perennial tormentor Qatar, 79-63.
Naturalized former LA Laker Trey Johnson led the Qataris with 16 points along
with Mohammed Yousef and Erfan Ali Saeed, both of whom combined for 27 points
and 20 rebounds. Not surprisingly, Marcus Douthit led the Philippines with 17
points and 10 boards, while Gary David and Jared Dillinger contributed 15 and
12 markers respectively. Gilas got badly beaten on the boards, 31-47, and Qatar
shot well from beyond the arc (33%).
The top four
teams in this tourney – Iran, Japan, Qatar, and the Philippines – each earned
an additional berth for their respective FIBA Asia Subzones in the 2013 FIBA
Asia Men’s Championship. This means that the distribution of slots will look
like the following:
- West Asia:
Iran (FIBA Asia Cup Champ) + Lebanon (Host) + 2 regular slots + 1 bonus slot
- Gulf: 2
regular slots + 1 bonus slot
- Central
Asia (the Stans): 1 regular slot
- South
Asia: 1 regular slot
- East Asia:
2 regular slots + 1 bonus slot
- Southeast
Asia: 2 regular slots + 1 bonus slot
I believe,
however, that, eventually, one of the slots in West Asia will be given to East Asia
because apart from Iran and Lebanon, historically speaking, only Jordan, Syria,
and maybe Iraq are the only other teams capable of competing at such a high
level. I doubt if Syria will be able to send a team (I hope I’m wrong, though)
because of the current peace and order instability there. This means that one
slot will probably be given to East Asia, since, historically speaking, it has the
most concentrated roster of traditional Asian powerhouses – China, Korea,
Japan, and Taiwan.
Champions Cup ain't done yet
Due to the
not-so-ideal security situation in Beirut and its surrounding areas (read:
Syria), the 2012 FIBA Asia Champions Cup Final between Lebanese club Al-Riyadi
and Iran’s Mahram squad was postponed indefinitely.
This was NOT
the only unusual thing about this past year’s Champions Cup, of course. For
one, a record-low 5 teams joined, presumably because, again, of the
not-so-ideal security situation in the area. Not all the FIBA Asia subzones
were represented, as the Gulf region, South Asia, and Southeast Asia did not
send representatives. Al Rayyan of Qatar, AL Shabab of Kuwait, the Indonesia
Warriors, and the San Miguel Beermen were all supposed to join, but
miscommunication and security concerns caused those teams to withdraw participation.
Considering
how this event was supposed to gauge the readiness of Beirut to host 2013’s
FIBA Asia Men’s Tournament, I wonder how the FIBA Asia bigwigs are feeling
right now.
Beirut hosts the 2013 FIBA Asia Tournament
Despite the
twin heartbreaks of Energen Pilipinas and Smart-Gilas on the court, perhaps the
deepest wound Pinoy basketball fans received in 2012 was when FIBA Asia awarded
the hosting rights to the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships to Beirut and NOTto Manila.
This despite
the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) being the ONLY national association
to go as far as to give FIBA Asia Secretary General Hagop Khajirian a personal
tour of the facilities in Manila, and this despite the SBP delivering the most
polished presentation to FIBA Asia’s primary decision-makers.
Here’s the
thing, though – if FIBA Asia decides to hold the final game of the 2012
Champions Cup somewhere else (probably a more stable area like Dubai, UAE, or
Doha, Qatar), then what does this say about the readiness of Beirut to hold the
Men’s Championships? More importantly, what does this say about the FAITH of
the other FIBA Asia member countries in Lebanon’s ability to be a host? And what
does it say about the decision-making of FIBA Asia? It’s all wrapped in
intrigue and uncertainty, so let’s all see how it develops.
Here’s my
fearful prediction, however – by the end of the first quarter of 2013, FIBA
Asia will realize that they cannot possibly stick to their guns and let Beirut
host. They will run back to the SBP to see if Manila is ready to be the back-up
host. SBP, of course, will decline out of wounded pride. This will leave FIBA
Asia with no other choice but to turn to (who else?) the Chinese, who are ALWAYS
ready to host such events – this is actually very similar to what happened to
the 2011 edition, which was supposed to be in Lebanon, too.
The long and
short of it is don’t be surprised if the 27th FIBA Asia Men’s
Championship will, indeed, be held somewhere in China.
Shaking your
head? Yeah. Get used to it.
FIBA changes its system
For a
summary of FIBA’s changes, read these bullets from FIBA.com:
“The key principles agreed for the new competition
format and calendar for men from 2017 are the following:
• After the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain,
the next edition will be moved to 2019 (instead of 2018) and will be played
every four years from then on. A total of 32 teams (increased from 24) will
participate in FIBA’s flagship event.
• The qualification period for the FIBA Basketball
World Cup will be held over the course of two years and consist of six windows
which will be in November (2017), February, June, September, November (2018)
and February (2019). The exact period and length of these windows will be
defined in the coming months in collaboration with all stakeholders. The
national teams will be divided into two divisions – Division A and Division B –
with groups of three or four teams in an open system with promotion and
relegation. Games in the qualification period will be played in a home-and-away
format.
• Asia and Oceania will play in a combined
Asia-Pacific region to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but
universality will remain in place for the qualifying process to the Olympic
Games.
• As of 2017, the continental championships will take
place every four years (2017, 2021, 2025) with a similar system of
qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World Cup and which will come into
action after FIBA’s flagship event in 2019. The windows will follow the same
principle as the qualifying process to the FIBA Basketball World Cup but will
be adapted in the Olympic years (2020, 2024).
• The qualification for the 2020 Olympics will be
through the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and four Olympic Qualifying
Tournaments to be held in four zones.”
Confused?
Then read my own take on it here. This means FIBA, in an effort to try and avoid
direct competition for markets between basketball and football, adopted changes
patterned, ironically, after the system of FIFA – the group from which they
were trying to distance themselves. In short, the qualification for future FIBA
World Championships (now renamed FIBA World Cup; qualification starts in 2017)
will be very similar, if not identical, to the qualification process for the
FIFA World Cup. This will also apply to FIBA’s continental championships. Implication?
The process will be longer, domestic leagues will be interrupted to a more
significant degree, and teams will lose the chance to get exposed to high-level
competition because of the “promotion and relegation” system.
Shaking your
heads even more? I told you to get used to it, didn’t I?
This is the third part in a series of posts
detailing the “Top Basketball Stories of 2012.” I’ve already posted the Top NBA Stories and Top PBA Stories. The fourth and last part will be about the Top
Local Amateur Basketball Stories.
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