“A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play.”
--Mike Krzyzewski
By Alex P. Vidal
IT is not news if we lose a game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
It is always expected since the tournament romped off in 1950.
Fans should refrain from bellyaching and finger-pointing.
We are not hypocrites to convince ourselves we can beat the logistically superior Goliaths of basketball from other continents.
What’s news is if we upset any team from Europe and America.
Another news--embarrassing it may seem--is if we lose by a mile or what the Italian pundits call as “massacro” or massacre like when Italy shamed the Philippines on Saturday, 108-62, in China.
It’s okay to lose, but, please, go down or get drowned with dignity by bringing their slippers to the deepest sea.
As they say in Italy, “Ridiamo per non piangere” or we laugh in order not to cry.
In the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Seville, Spain, Gilas Pilipinas did better despite suffering only hair-line defeats to Argentina, Croatia and Puerto Rico
And, hurray, we beat Senegal.
-o0o-
Sports supremacy is always measured by the country’s economic standing.
If you’re an economically struggling country from the Third World but happens to qualify in the World Cup or the Olympic Games like the Philippines, chances are you will be blown away by countries considered as economic super powers like Italy, Spain, USA, Russia, China, Serbia.
While poor countries have limited financial support for their athletes’ training, rich countries pamper their athletes and shower them with enormous financial and material assistance.
Even in the Olympic Games, the dominant countries are always those that dominate the world economy: USA, Russia, China, Japan, Germany, Korea, Great Britain, Canada.
-o0o-
Can we ever see again a Philippine basketball team in the World Cup where all cagers are pure Filipinos?
While we are happy for team Gilas Pilipinas, we really didn’t expect the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup third placer, the stage was different when the all-Filipino RP basketball team competed in the 1954 FIBA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and won the bronze medal.
In the 1954 FIBA World Cup (known at that time as the 2nd World Basketball Championship), the RP team did not have an Andray Blatche, center-forward of the Brooklyn Nets, recruited abroad to reinforce the Gilas Pilipinas.
We sent to Rio our best home-grown basketball players and we did not have to scout for naturalized reinforcements from the United States and Europe.
-o0o-
And we were so proud to see the brown cagers demolish Formosa (48-38), Israel (90-56), Canada (83-76), and Uruguay (67-63) through the heroics of Carlos “The Big Difference” M. Loyzaga.
We lost only to the eventual champion United States (43-56) and second placer Brazil (41-57) but it was our greatest moment in world basketball championship.
Loyzaga, who turned 84 last August 29, is widely regarded as the greatest Pinoy cager of his era, being the most dominant basketball star from the 1950s to the early 1960s.
A two-time Olympian (1952, 1956), Loyzaga helped the country become one of the best in the world at the time, winning four consecutive Asian Games gold medals (1951, 1954, 1958, 1962) and two consecutive FIBA Asia Championships (1960, 1963).
The country’s third place was the best finish by an Asian country and the Philippines have remained the only Asian medalist in the tournament until today.
To add prestige to our 1954 FIBA World Cup campaign, Loyzaga wound up as one of the tournament’s leading scorers with average of 16.4 points-per-game.
The Filipino player was named in the tournament's All-Star selection.
Nowadays it’s hard to duplicate Loyzaga’s achievements. We can produce a lot of promising cage stars from colleges and universities all over the country inspired by the performance of Gilas Pilipinas. But we can’t probably produce another Loyzaga in the next 50 years.
Truly, what happened in Rio did not happen in Seville and won’t happen in China. With basketball in other European, North and Central America improving by leaps and bounds, it will probably never happen again.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
Showing posts with label #sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #sports. Show all posts
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
US chess instructor eyes Mansion World Cup title
"Among a great many other things that chess teaches you is to control the initial excitement you feel when you see something that looks good. It trains you to think before grabbing and to think just as objectively when you're in trouble."
--Stanley Kubrick
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Elmhurst Chess Club mainstay Gilbert Buenaflor Gonzales has warned that the entry of United States Chess Federation (USCF) National Master Tyrell Harriott, among other foreign chess masters in the final edition of the 2017 Mansion World Chess Cup Rapid Championship, might derail the chances of Pinoy players aiming for a grand slam.
"Tyrell will wipe out all our previous edition winners because he is fast and an active blitz player anywhere in New York," feared Gonzales, winner of the Cup's 13th edition.
Gonzales' concern came after tournament arbiter Rainier Labay hinted that they might invite Harriott, a Chess-in-the-Schools full-time classroom instructor, in the Cup's final leg.
"We have the best line-up among the Filipino players and I am confident that we can give the foreign players a run for their money as what they did in the past," quipped Labay, the fastest blitz player in the community.
Meanwhile, Ejhay Labuac, second placer in the 10th edition and former University of Manila champion, disagreed with Gonzales.
"I will retire (from playing chess) if Tyrell will beat us," enthused Labuac, who has played with Harriott in Steinway on several occasions.
CLUB
According to the Manhattan-based Marshall Chess Club, Harriott is an active tournament player who has traveled to many countries to play chess.
"His competitive milestones include: 2nd place U2000 at The World Open in 2012, 1st place U2000 at The Continental Open in 2012, and 1st place U2100 at The Manhattan Open in 2012. Tyrell is passionate about technology and incorporates chess learning software, SMARTBoards, and online assessments into his pedagogy," the chess club reports in its website.
"I want to play in the next one," Harriott, who tots a World Chess Federation rating of 2175 (rapid) and 2197 (blitz), told Labay in a social media message.
"We will invite you next," replied Labay, who, along with FIDE Master Rico Salimbagat, is one of the highest rated Pinoy chessers now campaigning in the US.
The previous winners were: Benchly Buccat (2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th editions); Alex P. Vidal (3rd, 5th, 11th, 12th editions); Normando "Lolo Andy" Punzalan (1st and 4th editions); Gonzales (8th, 13th editions); Albert "Etik Etik" Riviera (10th edition); Thomas Hagakore (14th edition).
The Mansion World Chess Club Rapid tournament was organized in honor of Wesley So, a Cavite-born 24-year-old super-grand master now ranked No. 2 in the world, after he reached the 2017 World Chess Cup semi-finals in Tbilisi, Georgia recently.
He lost to China's GM Ding Liren, who lost to Armenia's GM Levon Aronian in the championship.
--Stanley Kubrick
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Elmhurst Chess Club mainstay Gilbert Buenaflor Gonzales has warned that the entry of United States Chess Federation (USCF) National Master Tyrell Harriott, among other foreign chess masters in the final edition of the 2017 Mansion World Chess Cup Rapid Championship, might derail the chances of Pinoy players aiming for a grand slam.
 |
| USCF Master Tyrell Harriott |
Gonzales' concern came after tournament arbiter Rainier Labay hinted that they might invite Harriott, a Chess-in-the-Schools full-time classroom instructor, in the Cup's final leg.
"We have the best line-up among the Filipino players and I am confident that we can give the foreign players a run for their money as what they did in the past," quipped Labay, the fastest blitz player in the community.
Meanwhile, Ejhay Labuac, second placer in the 10th edition and former University of Manila champion, disagreed with Gonzales.
"I will retire (from playing chess) if Tyrell will beat us," enthused Labuac, who has played with Harriott in Steinway on several occasions.
CLUB
According to the Manhattan-based Marshall Chess Club, Harriott is an active tournament player who has traveled to many countries to play chess.
"His competitive milestones include: 2nd place U2000 at The World Open in 2012, 1st place U2000 at The Continental Open in 2012, and 1st place U2100 at The Manhattan Open in 2012. Tyrell is passionate about technology and incorporates chess learning software, SMARTBoards, and online assessments into his pedagogy," the chess club reports in its website.
"I want to play in the next one," Harriott, who tots a World Chess Federation rating of 2175 (rapid) and 2197 (blitz), told Labay in a social media message.
"We will invite you next," replied Labay, who, along with FIDE Master Rico Salimbagat, is one of the highest rated Pinoy chessers now campaigning in the US.
The previous winners were: Benchly Buccat (2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th editions); Alex P. Vidal (3rd, 5th, 11th, 12th editions); Normando "Lolo Andy" Punzalan (1st and 4th editions); Gonzales (8th, 13th editions); Albert "Etik Etik" Riviera (10th edition); Thomas Hagakore (14th edition).
The Mansion World Chess Club Rapid tournament was organized in honor of Wesley So, a Cavite-born 24-year-old super-grand master now ranked No. 2 in the world, after he reached the 2017 World Chess Cup semi-finals in Tbilisi, Georgia recently.
He lost to China's GM Ding Liren, who lost to Armenia's GM Levon Aronian in the championship.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Incredible Sloane
"I think that tennis is only a game. You can lose. You can win. After that? In life, there are much more important things than tennis."
--Rafael Nadal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I mistook Sloane Stephens for Venus Williams because of her attire the night she ousted Williams in the semifinal.
They were almost identical except for their muscles in the arms and legs--and the way the responded to cheers from the crowd.
Williams, a two-time champin, was the favorite although both are Americans.
And when Stephens bundled out the highly-touted Williams, I thought she would breeze her way to the US Open title.
On Saturday night, Stephens, 24, did pocket the US Open, trouncing Madison Keys in the final, 6-3, 6-0.
By winning the title in a dominant fashion, Stephens also earned her first ever Major title.
UNSEEDED
Although she entered as an unseeded player, Stephens put away Anastasija Sevastova, Julia Goerges, Ashleigh Barty, Dominika Cibulkova, Roberta Vinci, Venus Williams, and Keys en route to the championship at the Artur Ashe Stadium.
Stephens did not walk in the park in the first set of her duel with Keys which was close. Keys held serve on her first two games.
Stephens took the first set, 6-3, scoring a break in the fifth game and then again in the ninth game.
After that, things didn’t open up any for Keys as Stephens held to open the second set, broke Keys, held again, and things weren’t necessarily competitive from there.
Keys lost one break with a double fault in the second set, and though she held on for as long as she could in her final service game, it wasn’t enough.
FEWER
Stephens actually hit fewer winners than Keys overall but only had six unforced errors, significantly less than Keys’ final tally of 30. Stephens had just 10 winners to Keys’ 18 and hit no aces while Keys had three. James Brady observed that Keys didn’t manage a single break in her three attempts though, while Stephens converted on five of 12.
Making her first appearance in a Grand Slam final, Keys, 22, made it to the fInal by whipping Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals and then CoCo Vandeweghe in the semifinal. Keys he had made it to the Australian Open semifinals once before, her previous best performance at a Grand Slam.
Stephens, 24, was also making her first appearance in a Grand Slam final. She made it to the final by beating the heavy favorite Williams. Stephens made it past Williams with an incredible third set performance.
--Rafael Nadal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I mistook Sloane Stephens for Venus Williams because of her attire the night she ousted Williams in the semifinal.
They were almost identical except for their muscles in the arms and legs--and the way the responded to cheers from the crowd.
Williams, a two-time champin, was the favorite although both are Americans.
And when Stephens bundled out the highly-touted Williams, I thought she would breeze her way to the US Open title.
On Saturday night, Stephens, 24, did pocket the US Open, trouncing Madison Keys in the final, 6-3, 6-0.
By winning the title in a dominant fashion, Stephens also earned her first ever Major title.
UNSEEDED
Although she entered as an unseeded player, Stephens put away Anastasija Sevastova, Julia Goerges, Ashleigh Barty, Dominika Cibulkova, Roberta Vinci, Venus Williams, and Keys en route to the championship at the Artur Ashe Stadium.
Stephens did not walk in the park in the first set of her duel with Keys which was close. Keys held serve on her first two games.
Stephens took the first set, 6-3, scoring a break in the fifth game and then again in the ninth game.
After that, things didn’t open up any for Keys as Stephens held to open the second set, broke Keys, held again, and things weren’t necessarily competitive from there.
Keys lost one break with a double fault in the second set, and though she held on for as long as she could in her final service game, it wasn’t enough.
FEWER
Stephens actually hit fewer winners than Keys overall but only had six unforced errors, significantly less than Keys’ final tally of 30. Stephens had just 10 winners to Keys’ 18 and hit no aces while Keys had three. James Brady observed that Keys didn’t manage a single break in her three attempts though, while Stephens converted on five of 12.
Making her first appearance in a Grand Slam final, Keys, 22, made it to the fInal by whipping Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals and then CoCo Vandeweghe in the semifinal. Keys he had made it to the Australian Open semifinals once before, her previous best performance at a Grand Slam.
Stephens, 24, was also making her first appearance in a Grand Slam final. She made it to the final by beating the heavy favorite Williams. Stephens made it past Williams with an incredible third set performance.
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