Philippine National Basketball Team

[cypher210]

InterAKTV/Markku Seguerra

After setting the country on fire with his rim-rattling dunks in the SMART Ultimate All-Star Weekend last July, Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee is back in town to conduct a big man’s camp in the Philippines.

The athletic 7-footer will teach local big guys basketball fundamentals alongside former NBA veteran Alton Lister and Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Norman Black on Saturday at the Moro Lorenzo gym in Ateneo, an event organized by the MVP Sports Foundation, the same group behind July’s series of all-star games featuring NBA stars.

While in the Philippines, McGee was able to take in PBA games last Wednesday. He has also been in discussions with officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country’s basketball federation headed by Manuel V. Pangilinan, who also chairs the MVP Sports Foundation.

With the NBA lockout in full swing, McGee said expressed openness about the possibility of playing in the Philippines.

“It’s a great idea, but I don’t know for sure,” he said. “If I play for another country, the Philippines would definitely be a consideration.”

Curiously, the PBA Commissioner’s Cup will allow teams to hire imports without regard to height, making McGee and other big NBA stars eligible. But finances might be a consideration, as the PBA caps the allowed salary for imports at a rate much lower than what NBA stars would make elsewhere.

Other NBA stars have already signed contracts with international squads because of the lockout, with Deron Williams debuting in Turkey recently and Andre Kirilenko joining a team in Russia. Kobe Bryant, who led the NBA contingent during the games in the Philippines in July, is also reportedly in talks with Italian ballclubs.

Another distinct possibility for McGee would be to suit up for the Philippine national team as a naturalized player. In the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, Marcus Douthit, a naturalized American, carried the cudgels for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team.

While McGee remains non-commital, he said that he loves the passion of Filipino basketball fans.

“Definitely, just the crowd and the energy the Filipino fans bring [is great],” he said. “It would make me happy to come back to the Philippines.”

InterAKTV is part of InterAksyon.com, the online news portal of TV5, which is chaired by Pangilinan. – With reporting from InterAKTV

that'd be sick if they could tap him as a new center for SG

[b3lowzro]

im just sad that our U16 Energen team Pilipinas lost against the Koreans in Semifinals, there goes our U17 World Championships dreams for next year.

[cjeagle]

The Korean jinx continues. Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing a Philippine in a World FIBA championship event. Blame it on the less than cooperative attitude of some colleges.

sports.inquirer.net/22109/fiba-asia-u16-ph-youth-bows-to-korea-ends-world-berth-bid

[wenden96]

even the for medal round jinx still continue.......bronze medal is elusive since 2002 busan games....we were defeated by japan....

[b3lowzro]

looks like our other U23 team is rolling past the competition here in the Sea Games.

[cjeagle]

SEA Games update:

103-74 Philippines over Malaysia
65-62 Thailand over Indonesia

Philippines-Thailand for gold medal,
Malaysia-Indonesia for bronze
Vietnam-Singapore for 5th

[stellarboy]

SEA Games update:

85-57 Philippines over Thailand

Philippines team wins the gold medal.

[takernz]

Smart GILAS wants to renew the contract of Douthit but they're getting another naturalized player.

here it is:

ph.news.yahoo.com/gilas-wants-douthit-mcgee-national-five-171420945.html

[stellarboy]

The Rajko Toroman era comes to an end
by rick olivares

Rajko Toroman flew back to Serbia Sunday night just as the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters vanquished the hard-fighting Powerade Tigers to become the first repeat All-Filipino champs in 27 years.

His departure officially ended the Serb’s era as head coach of the Philippine Men’s Basketball National Team. Unlike his arrival that was announced to much fanfare, Toroman left quietly. He packed his few belongings at the Eastwood condo that served as his home the past three years and opted not to take any calls.

When he arrived in Manila the other week, he met up with his former players in Smart Gilas who had moved up to the PBA. Even from afar, he kept track of their progress and how they had taken the Philippine Cup by storm. To watch them play made his heart swell with pride. He even knew their statistics. Not that I am surprised. He was always good at things like that. “Like a father watching his children,” he joked.

Contrary to his reputation as a difficult man to please, I had seen Toroman break out into a smile on many an occasion. But the attempt at mirth and jocularity left me with a wide grin. Will wonders never cease? Rajko Toroman feeling sentimental and joking, I teased.

He shrugged that famous shrug of his while still smiling. The time away following Smart Gilas’ failure to win the FIBA Asia Championships at Wuhan had nursed him back to the pink of health. It wasn’t only him. His players needed to recover from the disappointment.

“You see the players on how they have made a big impact in the PBA?” he said like a proud father. “We can build a new Gilas. Fix the problems of the old and make it better.”

He went on for another five minutes rattling off names of collegiate players who could replace those who had moved up. He had a few ideas and a few plans.

I asked him how long he was staying in Manila and he said until Sunday. “But I can extend it depending on what happens.”

He said that he was going to get an offer from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas that evening. “What if it’s a consultant position,” I pressed further.

“No. I am a coach. Not a consultant.”

I asked if he considered working for a local club – say Powerade of which feted him a dinner to welcome his two former wards in JV Casio and Lassiter. “No. It was nice of them to offer dinner so I can have a reunion with JV (Casio) and Marcio (Lassiter). But I work for the SBP and Smart Gilas.”

What if it doesn’t work out? “I can always find a job in Europe or Asia,” he answered.

We talked a little more and I asked him if we could meet the following evening. “Sure. In my apartment in Eastwood,” he said.

Only we never got to meet. The offer never came and he opted not to meet up.

In the early days of Smart Gilas when I used to run around with the team, he used to borrow my laptop to check on the sports scene in Serbia and Europe.

When he watched basketball games in the San Juan Arena, he would always drop by (former La Salle Green Archer) Marko Batricevic’s Balkan Express restaurant nearby. “I need my slice of Serbia,” he once told me as we munched on some terrific food at Batricevic’s restaurant.

When Vlade Divac arrived in Manila for the first NBA Asia Challenge, he met up with his former player (on the last unified Yugoslavian national team) to catch up.

When compatriot Milan Vucicevic joined Smart Gilas for the 2010 FIBA Asia Champions Challenge Cup, he had another person with whom he could converse in his native tongue.

Yet as homesick as he was, he came to love his “adopted” country. He became a familiar sight at many a local sports event. When he wasn’t attending to trainings or practices of Smart Gilas, when there wasn’t a basketball game on television or played in any of the multitude of arenas in Metro Manila, he would walk around the malls. He was never one to turn away a person who asked for a photograph or an autograph. When he was back in Serbia, aside from going online to check out his players who had been scattered across the PBA landscape, he would search on news about the Philippines.

I never got to meet up with Toroman that Saturday. I tried to get through to Toroman but he said that he couldn’t make it. Suddenly, I had a feeling that the rumors about the next generation of Smart Gilas going on in another direction were all true.

I asked him that Friday evening if things were all right between him and SBP management. He said that he has been treated very well and he had only good words for all.

During the post-match interview with TNT’s Chot Reyes inside the pressroom at the Araneta Coliseum, one of the sports scribes asked the coach if he was going to be handling Smart Gilas. Reyes said that his only focus was the next PBA conference.

I knew right there that the Rajko Toroman era had really come to an end.

Sports like everything else in life is in a constant state of flux. But lost within the politics, the highs and lows, the backstabbing, and the tears of joy and pain is where the Philippines stands in the international basketball scene.

The country has gained a measure of respect and that is something that can never be taken away. And so is Rajko Toroman’s part in it.

bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2012/01/rajko-toroman-era-comes-to-end.html

[jvictor]

Has "LINSANITY" fever touched down in Philippines?

[cypher210]

it probably has already the first day JLin scored his first 20pts lol

[jvictor]

How bad do you think it will go?

[cypher210]

JLin is legit. he may not be in Derrick Rose's caliber but he can ball. the guy's skills reminds me of steve nash and john stockton. hmm i wonder if hes gonna end up playing for China or Taiwan. both national teams are trying to get that guy. either or, smart gilas will probably have trouble guarding this kid.

[leoisiah]

Nakakatakot if he plays for Chinese-Taipei. Kasi dati Philippine team can beat them any time, even without a naturalized center. Pero if Lin decides to play for them, then sobrang magbabago offense nila. Those assist passes. And those penetrations! Ooh..

I am so happy about an Asian making it big in the NBA. Huhu kailan kaya magkakaroon ng Pinoy sa NBA?

[cjeagle]

Toroman is back as consultant for the San Miguel owned teams:

www.philstar.com/thedeanscorner/articlescontent.aspx?articleid=777670&publicationsubcategoryid=69