By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
provocations. “
As though the mayhem during the Philippine-Australia FIBA qualifying game on June 2 was not bad enough, some people made things even worst by justifying the conduct of Gilas, the Philippine team, further exposing their severe lack of sportsmanship and immaturity. In his initial statement, Terrence Romeo lashed out at fellow players who branded their conduct as embarrassing saying that they were just standing by teammates who were at the receiving end because they are not supposed to desert teammates in distress. Although calling the incident “absolutely unacceptable,” head coach Chot Reyes said that the team has been pushed to the limit by the series of provocations from the visitors particularly forward Daniel Kickert
Many personalities in and out of the local basketball sector who are supposed to know better including former Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao, Senators Tito Sotto and Joel Villanueva and actress Kris Aquino took the side of the Gilas. Guiao said that what the Gilas did was a natural human instinct, that it should be the Australians apologizing for sparking the brawl and that what would have been more shameful is had the Gilas failed to stand up to the bullying of the Australians! The two senators said we should not be bullied in our own land.
Aquino praised Romeo for standing by his teammates saying she shares the stance because she too does not leave family and friends in times of need. She concluded that Romeo was raised well by his parents because he apologized but made his position clear at the same time in reference to the eventual apology of Romeo wherein he said if the situation happens again, he will respond the same way. Apparently, Aquino and Romeo still have to learn that a sincere apology carries with it the promise not to repeat the act.
More bizarre is Aquino and Romeo did not take into account that the Gilas were on that court first and foremost as representatives of the country. Had Romeo and the involved members and coaches of the team borne this in mind and had acted accordingly, the fresh blot on the face of local sports would not have happened. Romeo, for one, would have considered the repercussion on the country as a whole and not just of his image as a member of a team or bosom buddy before he joined the fray. In the heat of the moment, the interest of the country evaporated from the minds of majority of the Gilas players and of their coaches specially assistant coach Jong Uichico who was caught on video unleashing punches of his own, and with it, all other considerations except for the need to send the message that the Gilas cannot be bullied and treated disrespectfully in their own country. So now we have to contend with the possible cancellation of the scheduled hosting of FIBA World Cup in 2023 for one.
What all the Gilas apologists failed to consider before they opened their mouths was that right in the footages are powerful evidences that the incident could have been avoided. First, there are the three Gilas players who kept off the melee and continued the game when the dust settled. Second, there is the scene where cadet Troy Rike rushed to shield from further punishment Christopher Goulding who was flat on the floor. That those players were able to keep their cool in the face of the provocations with one even getting out of his way to protect a fallen member of the other team means it was still humanly possible not to respond in kind. June Ray Fajardo, one of the three players who remained in the game, made this crystal clear and in the process flattened all the childish justifications offered by those involved in the infamous brawl and their defenders when he posted that when violence could be avoided, then one must avoid it because in some situations, courage is measured by one’s capacity to forbear and not by one’s readiness to fight.
As far as I am concerned, to prevent a recurrence, the key agents in our national basketball team should once and for all agree among themselves on the right response to provocations. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country’s national sports association for basketball, declared in its statement there is no place for violence in sports but the coaches and the bulk of the national players are of the conviction that there are instances when it is right to respond to provocations the way gangs and fraternities do even while wearing the colors of the country. Considering that coaches are the officials most responsible for instilling discipline in the team and in providing the cooler head when the situation calls for it, we can start the repair job by not allowing anybody with the immature and unsportsmanlike mindsets of Guiao, Reyes and Uichico to get near the Gilas henceforth. **
