Can Gilas follow NCC's successful blueprint?

Smart Gilas and the fabled Northern Consolidated. They happen to be the best-funded, most travelled basketball teams that have represented the Philippines in major international tournaments, with each of them taking similar paths, leaving cage experts to draw comparisons. The NCC squad bankrolled by then Ambassador and now San Miguel Corporation top honcho Danding Cojuangco earned the reputation of being arguably the best all-amateur Philippine men’s basketball squad through the years.

The team, then known as the RP training quintet, was assembled in 1981 with American players Jeff Moore and Dennis Still beefing up the squad. In 1983, the team was revamped, taking in members of the RP Youth team that won the Asian Youth Championship gold medal a year before. Among the players who were added were Hector Calma, Alfie Almario, Elmer Reyes and Jong Uichico. In 1984, naturalized candidate Arthur “Chip" Engelland, collegiate standouts Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Franz Pumaren from La Salle and Peter Aguilar, a discovery from PABL squad Mama’s Love and father of Smart Gilas player Japeth Aguilar, also came onboard. A year later, Yves Dignadice, Jerry Codiñera and Pido Jarencio were welcomed to the fold. Nicholas Stoodley, an American club team bannered by former PBA imports Larry Pounds and Kenny Tyler, was the first guest squad in the Philippine Basketball Association to win a title, ruling the 1980 Invitationals against the Toyota Tamaraws. In its third stint in Asia’s pioneering professional league, NCC entered the history books by becoming the first local guest squad to win the championship. This happened in the 1985 Reinforced Conference, via a 4-0 sweep of Manila Beer which had cage superstars Abet Guidaben, Atoy Co, and import Francoise Wise, among others. “Chip (Engelland) wasn’t able to participate in the 1985 Reinforced Conference because coach Ron Jacobs elected to have his superstar sitting out the games as he wouldn’t be eligible to play in the 1986 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC), now known as the FIBA Asia Championship. It turned out to be a good idea, as the other players got used to play together even without Chip in the line-up," said basketball historian Jay P. Mercado, also a business development manager of a popular fast-food chain in the country. But how good was NCC during the '80s? Aside from winning a PBA crown, NCC was able to reap international accolades. They went on to play against some of the world’s best players during their heyday – including Drazen Petrovic of Yugoslavia, the great Oskar Schmidt of Brazil, Hall of Famer Dino Meneghin of Italy, and Harold Pressley and Jay Bilas of the United States. The Nationals won the 1985 Jones Cup crown against the mighty United States, and the following year, the ABC title in 1986 against South Korea. “Originally, the ABC was scheduled for late 1985, but FIBA reset it to early 1986, just two months after NCC won the PBA Reinforced title. But NCC was a solid team back then. They already had good chemistry. Prior to its ABC campaign, the team had played in several international tournaments, including the 1985 World Interclub in Gerona, Spain and the Jones Cup. And before winning a PBA title, NCC had already participated as a guest team in the 1984 All-Filipino and the 1985 Open, where it had third-place finishes," added Mercado. In the 1984 AFC, NCC placed third behind Crispa and Gilbey’s Gin, then rejoined in the 1985 Open and had another third-place finish behind Great Taste and Magnolia. But Mercado was amazed by the competitiveness of NCC. “In 1985, the Philippines, composed of the NCC squad, carried the brand of San Miguel in the five-team World Interclub Championship. They went up against some of the best international players representing their respective club teams, among them, Cibona-Yugoslavia, led by then future NBA star Drazen Petrovic, the CA Monte Libano of Brazil led by the eminent Oskar Schmidt and Marcel De Souza, the Flying Eagles of the United States (made up of NCAA Division I players), and Banco Di Roma of Italy, led by Hall of Famer Dino Meneghin. NCC / San Miguel ended up with a 1-3 card, losing to Yugoslavia (111-86), USA (81-73), Brazil (a 78-77 heartbreaker), but beating Italy (98-79). By then, Engelland was around to help the team," Mercado recalled. Similarities between NCC and Gilas Like the NCC, Smart Gilas has also enjoyed the solid backing and international exposure the team needs – much more than the previous national men’s basketball teams. If NCC had Cojuangco as its backer, the Gilas five has businessman/sportsman Manuel V. Pangilinan. Curiously, the man locally known as MVP has been Cojuangco’s rival not only in business, but also in the PBA. Cojuangco runs three teams in the PBA under San Miguel Corporation: San Miguel Beer, Ginebra, and B-Meg Derby Ace. Pangilinan has two squads in Talk N Text, which is under PLDT, a company where he has controlling shares, and Meralco, where he has a majority stake. The creation of Smart Gilas has been patterned after that of NCC. The squad is composed of some of the finest amateur players in the land, players who chose to forego their ambition of joining the pro league and instead play for the national developmental squad. It has top amateur players Chris Tiu, Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, JV Casio, Dylan Ababou, Japeth Aguilar, Aldrech Ramos, Jason Ballesteros, and Fil-foreign players Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter and among others. Now the team also has Marcus Douthit, a candidate for naturalization. Over the past two years, players have come and gone. Rabeh Al-Husseini, Rey Guevarra and RJ Jazul decided to turn pro, and the team had to ask for reinforcements from the PBA, tapping players like Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams and Sol Mercado for major international events like the Stankovic Cup, the Dubai International Tournament, the William Jones Cup, and the Asian Games, among others. The national developmental team also has a foreign coach. While NCC chose American mentor Ron Jacobs, now a Hall of Famer in the PBA, Gilas acquired the services of Rajko Toroman, a veteran international bench tactician. Toroman is no stranger to winning. He led Iran to its first gold medal in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship and steered the country to its first Olympic stint in men’s basketball competition in 2008 in Beijing. With nearly three years of participation in international competitions, Smart Gilas’ highest achievement has been its second-place finish in the Dubai International Tournament behind Egypt, which won, 84-75, in the finals only last Saturday. Last year, the Filipinos placed third in the same tournament. Smart Gilas also had stints in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the Jones Cup, the Stankovic Cup, and the Asian Games, where it had a poor sixth-place finish, the worst for the Philippines since 1966. And yes, Smart Gilas had a stint in the PBA, too. The squad played as a guest team in 2009, with all of its games considered as non-bearing matches. In this season’s PBA second conference, the national developmental squad will take the spot vacated by Barako Bull, which filed a leave of absence. NCC’s deep talent pool made the difference Basketball observers are convinced that the NCC, as the national team that reaped success here and in the Asian cage tournaments, definitely had a better team compared to Gilas. “No question about it, the NCC had a deep pool of talent compared to Gilas, with not only one but three naturalized players beefing up the squad. Aside from that, NCC had more talented local players. I’ve never seen a shooter as deadly as Allan Caidic over the years. I’ve never seen a player as versatile as Samboy Lim, who not only shot well from the perimeter, but could also drive to the basket with efficiency. And I’ve never seen a point guard as heady as Hector Calma. Plus, the team also had a superb backup cast, so it was definitely a solid team," said veteran sportscaster and columnist Ronnie Nathanielsz. “Smart Gilas has promising players, too. I like Baracael and Aldrech Ramos, who play their hearts out every game, but Japeth Aguilar has been nothing but a disappointment, not only for Smart Gilas, but also for local basketball in general. And I tell you, my relationship with people close to me, including the sports media and those in the basketball circuit, has soured because of him. It’s because I had always defended him before," added Nathanielsz. Tito Talao, a veteran sports scribe/columnist, also believes the NCC is a better team. “No question about it," said Talao. “But we have to remember, NCC had three naturalized players, and the team had Ron Jacobs as coach." Uichico, a member of the 1984 NCC squad that won the 1984 Asian Club Championship in Ipoh, Malaysia, mentioned the similarities of his former team and the present Gilas squad. “NCC had the up-and-coming talents just like Gilas now, but we had more experience than them," said Uichico. “And before, there were no professional players allowed to play in the Asian basketball competitions. Unlike now, maraming professional players ang sumasali, kaya ang nangyayari, yung mga Gilas players natin, parang namamama sila." Will Gilas rewrite history? The PBA not only opened its doors to Smart Gilas, but also gave the national developmental squad an opportunity to rewrite history – by trying to become the second local guest team to win a PBA title. And coaches and sports analysts think Toroman and his quintet have a good chance to do it. “They have a legitimate shot at winning the title because they have matured and they have a naturalized player in Douthit," said Uichico. “I believe they’re even the favorites now. They have the big advantage of having the tallest import in Douthit," added Yeng Guiao, the newly-installed coach of Rain or Shine. “Yes, they’re one of the favorites," said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio. “There’s nobody in the league who can match up with Douthit inside, be it a local or an import." The PBA second conference will feature imports not taller than 6-foot-4, so that the 6-foot-10 Douthit, a former draftee of the Los Angeles Lakers, is expected to dominate inside. “Douthit is likely to dominate because he’s the tallest among the imports and because of his advantage, Smart Gilas will have a good chance to compete," said Nathanielsz. “Before, NCC had three naturalized players who were like imports. Smart Gilas has only one in Douthit, but he’s 6-foot-10, so he will use his advantage to the hilt against smaller imports," added Talao, also the president of the PBA Press Corps. - KY, GMANews.TV