Racism and patriotism

Credit to Author: MICHAEL ANGELO B. ASIS| Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 16:15:36 +0000

MICHAEL ANGELO B. ASIS

Arwind Santos got himself in the headlines. He also got himself 200k poorer.

Doing the monkey dance on an African-American in 2019 is really an embarrassment, especially since you have a few of them sitting with you on the bench. If I have to issue a disclaimer: Yes, I am a fan of San Miguel, but I would not at all defend this act. Neither would Chris Ross, who confronted Yeng Guiao over an alleged racial slur.

We have psy-wars and mind games, but that is simply a lack of class. Also, I’d like to remind SMB that you started winning when you stopped playing “mind games” and actually started playing basketball.

I’ve always thought that we should have a deep respect for African-Americans. They dominate in fields that are very dear to Filipinos: basketball and singing. Their struggle to gain equality should be emulated by Asians who were also subjected to similar discrimination.

Some examples of alleged racism include questionable scorecards in boxing and calls in basketball. In 1996, many Filipinos felt that Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco was robbed of a gold medal in his boxing finals match against a Bulgarian opponent. The fact that he fought against a Caucasian led to racism allegations.

The National Team debacle
Any talk of racism against any of our countrymen would spark a strong sense of patriotism on our part. However, since we are in “peace time” no one seems to bother. There were even more withdrawals on Team USA, and this made their team even weaker. Veteran leader Kyle Lowry eventually quit, even Bam Adebayo, a young big man prospect.

It came to a head when Team USA reportedly lost to a G-League selection, but Donovan Mitchell downplayed the result, saying it was just “practice.” (Mitchell is a probably an Allen Iverson fan)

Maybe someone should drop a racial slur to entice the players to rise and carry the American flag(not an actual suggestion). It is true that there really is no practical reason for a star player, as illustrated by CJ McCollum. But patriotism is hardly ever based on practicality.

There would be times when we have to choose between what is beneficial for us, and what is right. Our country will have to choose between economic assurances and political sovereignty. Our choice will eventually define who we are.

Make no mistake, though. While we salivate on the prospect of Terrence Jones or Chris McCullough playing for our team, Team USA still has a slew of players better than those two. They would still be the favorite to win it all, but we must note that the best players in World Cup (Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo) are not in Team USA.

PBA trades
Rain or Shine traded Maverick Ahanmisi to Alaska in exchange for Ping Exciminiano and a first round pick. Ahanmisi is a luxury for the Elasto Painters because of Nambatac’s sudden emergence and JV Mocon performing better than expected as a rookie.

Ed Daquioag is also coming into his own, all after Ahanmisi got injured. This has often been the case for Rain or Shine—injuries actually help bring out the best in their other players. They seem to have a thin divide between the stars and the reserves, which is why they can survive player departures.

Some key players who have left ROS: Raymond Almazan, JR Quinahan and Paul Lee. These players are stars on their new teams and they hardly get equal value in return—but they are smart enough to take draft picks.

Draft picks actually have no intrinsic value until you use them to get a player, and ROS has been very adept at spotting talent. Now they will enter a deep draft with three first round picks. Non-superstar rookies love to be drafted by ROS since they are given fair chances, and this is the reason why they have been a resilient franchise with smooth continuity.

Frankly, I don’t understand the reason why some ROS fans (and players, apparently) are after Coach Caloy Garcia’s head. He has not exactly underperformed, and just like Coach Yeng Guiao, he has made the best of his roster.

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