I guess we all have our response to this phrase so I'll leave it at that. If we look at it, work is where we spend most of our time so the least we can do is maximize our time at work. We should not fall prey to the routine that is work. We should look at work differently. We should instead look at it at a different perspective - more on service, service to your colleagues, to your superiors and to your clients.
This is my definition of work.
Anybody still aware of the local basketball scene?
A quick glance. The PBA or Philippine Basketball Association has taken up the responsibility of maintaining a training pool of players who will represent the country in international competition. For this year alone, the national team has participated in a couple of big name tournaments - Jones Cup in Taipei and the FIBA qualifier in China both outings ending in disappointment. Disappointment to the sponsors, basketball officials who overesees the progress of the team and the Filipino public who are still hoping for a miracle that the Philippines can reclaim its former glory as a basketball power in Asia.
Those were the days.
Looking at the tournaments that I just mentioned above - the Jones cup is a prestigious contest that is participated by mostly national teams. The participants use this tournament to size up their possible opponents in future international meets. If my memory serves me right the last time the Philippines won the gold was in 1998, when the so-called centennial team convincingly won the title under coach Tim Cone. Back then we didn't have Fil-foreigners playing for the flag but how come we won the 98 edition of the tournament? Fast forward to the present. The team that competed for this year's Jones cup is definitely more atheletic and talented but why did fell short of a respectable finish?
Evolution.
If we look at the asian basketball scene for the last three years there was this gradual change that alot of people didn't expect. The changing of the guard. After the Chinese monopoly on the basketball golds here come the teams from the middle east. Iran has been steady in their campaign as far as winning international competitions are concern and not far behind are Lebanon and Jordan. Korea once an arch rival of China for the gold has also been relegated to a supporting role. The absence of Yao Ming on the Chinese bench is a big blow to the Big Red Machine but a golden opportunity for others. Even with Yi Jianlian playing for China they still were beaten badly by an Iranian team that didn't have a superstar.
A fact that I like to point out. China was the great innovator when it came to developing talent and assembling a team while Korea was the hands down choice for conditioning and shooting. From these qualities that the teams on the raise also invested greatly. A practice that the Philippine team does not have. Yes it's a given that the players that is currently in the roster are the finest that the country has but is this enough?
The preparation alone is already a big question mark. The team still has a lot trials that they need to undergo as one but I guess with the current set-up they wouldn't have enough trials to look forward to. A player's stint with the national team is short and uncertain, just like the national basketball program.
To be continued ...
