GILAS Pilipinas flew to Amman, Jordan, on Monday night to fulfill a mission that has become almost a routine: Serve the country with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength.
All national teams and all individual athletes are sworn to give their utmost when called upon to represent flag and country. It is a chant as common as a witchcraft’s incantation. You stray from that and you end up as a rebel without a cause.
So, behave at all times, fellas.
We know that nothing is at stake in Jordan except prestige. Win or lose against Jordan and Saudi Arabia, no worries. We are still qualified in the Worlds proper next year.
Still, there is no reason not to be focused at the task at hand: Win at all costs. Nothing beats the high of every triumph achieved.
So, no room to dilly-dally.
No reason to bore your brains with nonsense.
No time for gallivanting, please.
We are not tourists in the Holy Land but hardy souls short of being a bunch of warriors thirsting for blood at every opportunity. For, that is the only way we could attain near-perfection, if not perfection itself.
Give your coaches, led by Chot Reyes and Tim Cone, all that they’ve been asking from you, no matter the odds. They may whip your asses real hard and become, most often, a pain in the neck. But that’s what they’re here for: Turn you into becoming game-eaters to become unmistakable winners in the end.
You will play Jordan on Friday (midnight of November 11 Manila time) at the start of the fifth window of the Fiba World Cup.
You are the underdogs, all right, as the hometown crowd is not with us. But just play on like real troopers out to spoil the party. Do the same, when you play next the Saudis in Jeddah three days later.
Just remember: You play not for yourself but for your country. Embrace the moment.
THAT’S IT Carlos Yulo may have performed below expectations in Liverpool, England, but the 51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championship had afforded him many lessons in his preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics. “For the first time, I was grouped with the really good ones,” said Yulo, who settled for the silver in losing his world vault title while earning the bronze in the parallel bars. “Pitted against them, I realized that I still lack a lot of things.” The good thing is, the Liverpool bash did not stake qualifying points for the Paris Games. It is in the World Cups in Azerbaijan, Germany, Qatar and Egypt where the qualifying Olympic points are up grabs from February to April next year. Vault on, Caloy!