The Final Score: Smart Gilas and our cautious passion for basketball

On a rainy Saturday, the Smart Gilas wallops the Al-Ittihad club of Saudi Arabia to open the 22nd FIBA-Asia Champions Cup. A crowd cheers for every Japeth Aguilar slam-dunk. It's a good-sized crowd, just not a mammoth-sized mob. Filipinos' passion for hoops is well-documented. One wonders, however, if it's well-exhibited. Smart Gilas enjoys homecourt advantage against title-contenders Iran and Lebanon. But as our players strive to bring Philippine basketball from oblivion to omnipotence, empty seats inside the Philsports Arena remind them how far they've gone and how far they have to go. I look around the arena and sense optimism. Skeptics won't bother commuting through traffic or rain. But to watch the game in person, to actually purchase a ticket and witness the growth of a basketball program designed to achieve the improbable, that takes conviction. Anyone who watches the game with the sole intention of watching Gilas falter; well, that's just being mean, or mundane. The decent-sized crowd is a devout one. These fans know the Gilas players, of course. They're glad to see Chris Tiu and JV Casio playing with renewed vigor. They even welcome Dondon Hontiveros with loud applause. Tiu appreciates the support of a compact crowd. He's thankful they're there. Yet he wonders if more people can watch them play. Should watch? Is it a civic duty for citizens of a basketball-crazy country to support their National Team? How can we claim to be a basketball-crazy country if we can't pack a 10,000-seater arena for a major international tournament? People want to see Gilas succeed. Some people are happy to join Gilas in the National Team's painstaking journey back to global relevance. Game by game. One poignant step at a time. Some, however, prefer to wait. Maybe they're waiting for Gilas to prove all doubters wrong. Maybe they're waiting for Gilas to win the big one - the FIBA-Asia Men's Championship - first. Maybe they're waiting for the hurt, a cumulative pain built by years of hardcourt heartbreak, to finally subside. I'm not disappointed when I scan the arena and see empty seats below, in the expensive seats, and empty seats above, in the upper galleries. Because I understand why other fans choose not to watch. For now. Because I, too, feel the hurt. Their hurt. Our passion for hoops is unlike blind allegiance. For if that were the case, even games between struggling collegiate teams will attract huge crowds. Filipinos know their basketball. Often, too well. As such, they feel entitled to wait. To see if Gilas deserves the love. You know; like 21,000-plus fans inside the Big Dome waving little Philippine flags kind-of-love. Reserved optimism. It's not the only way to support the team. But it's certainly one way to remain cautious. Fans know success is just around the corner. But so is disappointment. Gilas is but part of the process, not the ultimate solution, to bring them all back. -- GMA News