FIBA Asia 6th man - The Filipino crowd
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 10 Aug 2013
MANILA (PNA) -- In the sport of basketball, there's a player called the ?sixth man.?
One who comes off the bench when the team is down, enlivens up his teammates again, turns the game around and rights the situation.
The best sixth man in the Philippine team seeing action in the on-going FIBA Asia World Championship qualifying tournament the country is hosting , however, has never made a basket, never drew a foul, never blocked a shot, never inbounded the ball or never hauled down the rebounds.
It?s the multitude out there in the VIP section of the stadium, the lower and upper boxes, the bleachers and even in the press row who packed every space available, ready to egg on the home team, cheering the players with aahs and oohs in every brilliant plays to the extent of cursing whoever their team?s the opponents are.
For the past 10 days, they were there crammed inside the air-conditioned Mall of Asia Arena willing to suffer the discomfort of staying shoulder-to-shoulder until the final day today and suffer laryngitis the days afterwards just so they could roar their countrymen on.
No less than Philippine head coach Chot Reyes and even his players ? Ranidel de Ocampo and Marc Pingris, in particular, along with Jason Castro, Larry Fonacier and Japeth Aguilar have taken notice of the support the crowd have been lending their campaign on the way to advancing into the semifinal round and, hopefully, beyond that.
?In the end, it was the support of the crowd that kept us going,? Reyes would often tell newsmen after each of his boys? five victories against a solitary loss en route to last night?s Final Four encounter with South Korea.
Even local basketball?s living legend Robert ?The Big J? Jaworski, Jimmy Mariano, team captain of the successful 1973 then Asian Basketball Confederation champion Five, that year?s MVP Bog Adornado, Rosalio Martirez and Manny Paner have called on the basketball-crazy Filipinos to up the morale of the present team by watching the games daily like they did 40 years ago.
A victory over the Koreans Saturday night would have meant a silver medal and the ticket to next year?s World Championship in Spain are ready for picking with a chance to returning to the Asian basketball throne, which the Filipinos last sat on in 1985, to boot.
Reyes, since the start of his and his team?s campaign, have often said finishing third and advance to the World Championship would make them happy, but with bringing the crown now within reach (pending results of Saturday night?s game) succeeding would be a big, big bonus.
Like in Reyes? boys? games in the tournament two-phased elimination round and quarterfinal round, the gallery was filled to the rafter doing everything they can to cheer on the Nationals and jeering their rivals.
Those not accommodated due to sky high ticket prices that made the scalpers, again happy by making a killing, they were inside their homes, their friends and relatives house, in restaurants, caf?s even sidewalks sand wherever television sets were working to watch the game and, perhaps, the making of history.
The not a few who don?t have tv would have contented sticking their ears on their radio sets savoring the expected triumphant march of their favorite team and praying that may God bless the Philippine team!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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