August 16 - 31 , 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 29
WHAT happened ? Why the rout ? Where did we go wrong ? And finally , who is to blame ?
It ’ s hard to believe that we could lose that way to South Korea .
We crushed the longuncrushable Great Wall , only to be brutally beaten to a pulp by the Koreans .
That 32-point Gilas loss was simply unacceptable by any stretch of imagination .
Gilas absorbing such humiliation on the world stage was like seeing Grand Slamseeking San Miguel Beer bow to a ragtag barangay-level squad before a jampacked crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum .
Going to the Korea game on Wednesday , Gilas Pilipinas was not only in high spirits but in the highest of spirits .
That three-game winning streak Gilas had collected against China , Iraq and Qatar wasn ’ t just a super upper but , more importantly , the perfect aperitif to an expected victory ride past Korea .
But , no , the ride ran roughshod into a rout of nightmarish proportions .
In a stunning display of fierce firepower complemented by an asphyxiating defense , Korea rumbled past a haplessly clueless Gilas , 118-86 .
With the suddenness of a heavy afternoon downpour , Korea ’ s blitzkrieg snuffed out Gilas ’ much-ballyhooed title dreams .
Worst , the quarterfinal setback even bumped Gilas out of the medal race — a cruel fact that will haunt us all the way to next 2019 Fiba Asia Cup .
And yet , shooting-wise , Gilas did well : 45 percent from the field and 44 percent from the rainbow ( 11-of-25 ).
But , sad as it was , only Terrence Romeo was consistently hot , shooting 22 points in the first half alone .
Abominably , the rest failed to match Romeo ’ s ruthless fury .
Isn ’ t basketball a team game and not a one-man game ?
That ’ s what Korea did : Not just one man but almost the entire team combining for an impeccable 59-percent field goal shooting , including an incredibly improbable 76- percent clip ( 16-of-21 !) from beyond the arc .
With that kind of
SPECTATOR
By Al Mendoza
Most embarrassing defeat ever by PHL quintet
firepower , not even NBA champ Golden State could defeat Korea that night .
We employed man-toman defense to the death — and , alas , we died with it .
In any battle , any tactical adjustment is paramount to realize strategic ends . We missed on that . Terribly .
We gambled and paid the price : We lost everything , including pride .
Why the ‘ Midnight Massacre ’ in Lebanon ?
THE “ Midnight Massacre ” simply refuses to die down that easily . It has become like a gossip of scary proportions that it has taken the form of from a tiny spark transforming bizarrely into a wildfire engulfing an entire forest .
I refer once again to that terrible 32-point blasting by South Korea of Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba Asia Cup , the brutal butchering fashioned out when the basketball world was half asleep .
Before that grisly gore happened , Gilas was being mightily hailed as the team to beat in the Worlds qualifier in Lebanon .
After Korea ’ s killer of a win against Gilas in balmy Beirut , our squad was woefully reduced from title contenders to mere crumbs-seekers .
Suddenly , with the gold gone , Gilas was now only good for a consolation finish — thrown mercifully out of the medal race as even the bronze has become an unreachable piece of metal .
From potential champ to only a fifth finisher at best .
In one fell swoop , Korea razed the luster of Gilas ’ fourteam Group B eliminations sweep .
In a shocking manner , Gilas ’ wins in succession over defending champion China , Iraq and Qatar were rendered meaningless by Korea ’ s clinical dismissal of its bitter rival for the longest time .
If there is one basketball crew we dread that much like the bubonic plague , it is Korea .
Not just “ kontra-pelo ” ( jinx ) for us but an almost perennial spoiler to a victory party in the offing .
That is why when we defeated Korea in the 2013 Fiba Asia Cup in Manila , it was like we had won the crown .
That win amounted to a return for us to the Fiba Worlds after almost four decades of waiting .
It also meant sweet revenge as the win eliminated Korea , the same country that stole from us a Finals appearance against China in the 2002 Asian Games .
We were then ahead by two in Busan when an improbable three-pointer at the buzzer from atop the key gave the Koreans an ego-shattering one-point victory .
But on hindsight , that game was not really meant for us — Asi Taulava and Olsen Racela both missing two free throws each in the dying seconds of the match .
Can ’ t forget . I was there covering the ill-fated match .
Coach Jong Uichico cried a tear . So did I .
A sad goodbye to Roy Acosta et al .
ONE by one , they are leaving .
Jun “ Bote ” Bautista , Raffy Marcelo and Benjie Castro . All brilliant broadcasters . Gone . Upps , include Hermie Rivera , the boxing manager cum sportscaster ; gone , too .
Butch del Castillo , Cip Roxas and , just last week , Roy Acosta . All eminent newspapermen . Gone . Upps , include Monica Feria ; gone , too .
Bote and Raffy were both my golf buddies and glass mates . Only until recently did I learn from Ray Butch “ Elvis ” Gamboa of Bote ’ s real name : Aguro Camu .
Raffy was one of a kind . At the height of our golf madness during the muchdreaded martial law years , Raffy would almost willingly absent himself from his anchor job at GMA 7 ’ s 6 p . m . newscast in exchange for another 18 holes of golf at Veterans in Q . C .
I am the “ accidental ” godfather of his child . During one drunken spree after 36 holes of golf , Raffy said to me : “ You will be the godfather of my new-born son .” “ Why me ?” “ Because you are the craziest person I ’ ve ever met ,” Raffy said . “ Much crazier than me .”
Benjie was the dzSR studio anchor when I was still doing PBA radio analysis . His father , Angelo Sr ., was my poker mate and glass mate as well . Before signing off , Benjie had a radio show featuring only
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The Beatles every Saturday .
Hermie was the manager of former world boxing champions Luisito “ Lindol ” Espinosa and Morris East . He was the late Joe Cantada ’ s sportscasting partner in boxing . Hermie loved to buy me neckties and drinks when he came a-visiting from his base in Newark , San Francisco , CA .
Butch and Cip were great business writers and columnists / editors who I had the pleasure of sharing unforgettable moments together while killing a bottle quite a lot of times at the National Press Club .
Monica was a dear friend of writer-journalist-poet Sol F . Juvida . Through Sol ’ s brokering , Monica acquired my first car : a Mini Cooper van — virtually for a song .
Now to Roy Acosta . He was the Inquirer ’ s managing editor when I was a sports columnist of the same paper .
As the Inquirer ’ s second in command , Roy ’ s main job was to whip his reporters into tip-top shape at all times . He was a drillmaster , whose booming voice struck fear to the weak of hearts — and to those sleeping on their job .
You ’ d either love or hate him .
Those who hated him were always on the lookout for faults . When they found one , they pounced on Roy like crazy .
It was , of course , a trumped-up charge — a case
By : Julian Ray Fortaleza
Answers from last week ’ s issue
that had really no leg to stand on .
Not wanting to dignify his accusers , Roy resigned — as only men of dignity would .
Some years later , Roy and I would work together again . He was this paper ’ s managing editor when Popong Andolong allowed me to start my motoring column here in 2007 .
After about a year later , Roy , then this paper ’ s editor in chief , gave sports editor Jun Lomibao the green light for my “ That ’ s All ” column .
For the record , both
columns — resurrected from the Inquirer — had the say-so , of course , of Boss Anton . Thanks again , Boss .
Then it happened . Roy left this paper . Things happen for a reason , you know .
But after a little while , word was out that Roy would be back .
“ Just threshing out some kinks ,” Boss Anton said to me .
Then Roy got sick . Next thing we hear , Roy ’ s dead .
“ We lost a hidden hero of Philippine journalism ,” wrote Recah Trinidad in his well-read Inquirer sports column last week .
Red Smith called his departed friends , “ absent friends .”
I call them vacationers . They leave , but not forever .
1 . Conor Mcgregor sparred against Paulie Malignaggi 2 . Muhammad Ali win the Thrilla in Manila 3 . Only Steve Nash and Stephen Curry have won consecutive MVP ’ s
New Questions
1 . How many punches did Floyd Mayweather land in the 10th round vs . Conor Mcgregor ? 2 . Who won the 3rd fight between Pacquiao and Morales ? 3 . How many championships do the Cleveland Cavaliers have ?