The Annual #BallerAwards: The Best of Asian Basketball in 2014

In lieu of a year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best ballers of 2014. 

In this post, I will talk about the guys who did really well in the 2014 Asian basketball scene. Perhaps they led their countries/teams to titles and milestones. Perhaps they led their respective leagues in a certain statistical category. Perhaps they made history. Perhaps they did all of those things.

The Most Thankless Job in Philippine Basketball

A couple of weeks ago, the SBP and PBA revealed how the Gilas program was due for a bit of an overhaul. This, of course, was triggered by Gilas’s dismal showing in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. A lot of people assumed that this meant coach Chot was automatically out of the equation, but that was quickly refuted by SBP officials, who said that coach Chot will still be involved in the program and may even be renewed as the team’s coach.

The only coach in the past three decades to give us a Jones Cup title, a FIBA Asia silver medal,
a FIBA Asia Cup bronze, and a win in the World Cup has called it quits.
(image from Smart Gilas)

At midday today, however, the coach who steered Philippine basketball back to the world stage took his name out of the running.

#GilasIssues: Part 2 – It’s Not The Coach

Off with his head.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much backlash result from such an unfortunate confluence of events involving Gilas Pilipinas.

After steering Gilas to a disappointing finish in the 2014 Asian Games, seemingly shaming naturalized player Marcus Douthit in public after losing to Qatar, and engineering an unprecedented own-goal attempt against the Kazakhs, coach Chot Reyes came under fire from all angles.

Many wanted him out of Gilas as soon as possible.

Some considered him no more than a disgrace to Philippine basketball.

Everybody wanted, at the very least, an explanation.

Practically nobody was left in his corner, except those who were actually, literally, with him in Incheon, South Korea.

Coach Chot had a forgettable stint in the 2014 Asian Games.
(image from Jumpball.co.kr)

"It's unfair criticism. Obviously, the result here in Korea wasn't what we had planned. We were hopeful to compete for the gold medal. But again a lot of unexpected things happened, from Andray's eligibility issue, to having Marcus back after pretty much two to three months layoff, and on top of that the injuries, but then again, it's not an excuse. The guys continued to fight, gave everything they had but for this particular tournament, it wasn't enough," said Jimmy Alapag in one interview.

2014 Asian Games Basketball Roundup: Final Day

History was made in the 2014 AsianGames in Incheon, South Korea as the hosts pulled the rug from tournament favorite Iran to win its fourth Asiad gold medal. It was a fitting send-off for one of Korea’s most iconic players, too, as they bid farewell to the international career of Kim Joo-Sung, who was also around when Korea last won a gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games. In the bronze medal match, Kenji Hasegawa’s crew held on to beat Kazakhstan and secure Team Hayabusa’s first Asiad medal since 1994.

23-year old Kim Jong-Kyu represents the bright future of basketball in Korea.

Evaluating Gilas Pilipinas in the 2014 Asian Games

I recently guested on ABS-CBN Sports + Action’s The Score (hosted by TJ Manotoc) to talk about the campaign of Gilas Pilipinas in the 2014 Asian Games. Talking about the pains and gains of Gilas was tough, since the team, by all intents and purposes, fell way short of their (and our) expectations. Still, when taken in the proper context, one cannot help but still be proud of what this team did. When looking at Gilas from a big picture perspective, there’s hardly any doubt about the positive difference it has made on Pinoys.

The 2014 Asiad marked the end of Gilas Pilipinas's cycle that started in 2012.

And I’m not just talking about basketball.

#LabanPilipinas #PUSO

2014 Asian Games Basketball Roundup: Day Eleven

Gilas Pilipinas ended its campaign in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea on a bright note, beating upstart Mongolia and finishing seventh in the field of sixteen. The win, however, failed to completely compensate for the fact that this is the worst finish of the Philippines in the Asian Games. China, meanwhile, upended Qatar to finish in the top five, while Korea and Iran won in the semis to dispute the gold medal today.

The old and the new together. Old-timer Kim Joo-Sung is serving as a mentor
to young big man Lee Jong-Hyun.

Game recaps:

PHILIPPINES over MONGOLIA, 84-68

Box Scores

Ranidel De Ocampo flirted with a triple-double in this game, while June Mar Fajardo reeled in a double-double performance as the Philippines notched just its third win in seven games here in Incheon. RDO scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and handed out 7 assists in 32 minutes of play for Gilas, which finishes outside of the top 6 for the first time ever. Fajardo gave a good account of himself as Marcus Douthit was used sparingly. The SMB big man dropped 11 points and 12 boards to anchor Gilas’s middle. LA Tenorio and Gabe Norwood also did well with 11 points each. Mongolia’s dynamic duo of Bilguun Battuvshin and Sanchir Tungalag paced the losing side with a combined 33 markers.