Ending a 61-year championship drought? That magical semifinal performance of Justin Brownlee? Come on! Gilas Pilipinas’ gold medal win in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China is undeniably one of the best stories in Philippine sports history. Still, there’s more to Gilas’ landmark victory than meets the eye.
On Monday, a press conference was held by the PBA. The league’s top brass who guided the national team in the Asiad were in attendance and gave the public a behind-the-scenes insight on what really went down in Hangzhou.
“Sabi ni (PBA) chairman (Ricky Vargas), final four, okay na tayo. Kasi wala pang nakaka-final four (since 2002),” Gilas team manager Alfrancis Chua disclosed.
“And when we did, sige, isa pa (panalo), isa pa. When we beat China, it’s a miracle win. It’s a God-given win. Sabi ko nga sa post ko, ‘Kakampi namin ang Diyos.’ Sila (China), kung sino man ang kakampi nila, hindi ko alam,” he continued.
Aside from facing high-level opposition in front of a hostile crowd, Gilas also had to endure a grueling schedule en route to the championship. The quarterfinals and the semifinals were played 16 hours apart. After a day’s rest, the finals took place.
“Can you imagine? Three straight games. 16-hour difference, tapos rest, tapos finals, my God. Kaya ako, inaantok pa ko,” Vargas said.
Tasked to take care of the team, Vargas said they approached the Chinese organizers several times to raise concerns. But the response they got was quite jarring.
“We probably complained a lot to the organizers, and then one of the officials banged his laptop and said, ‘You again? Basketball again? Even your God cannot help you!” revealed Vargas.
Had cooler heads not prevailed, things could’ve gotten out of hand. Thankfully for Gilas, including the team officials, they stayed intact and were at their best in the battle for gold.
Perhaps there was divine intervention, after all.
(PM)