WHO OWNS GILAS PILIPINAS ?

courtesy of smartgilas basketball.com

And the blame game begins.

After making it all the way to the finals, Gilas Pilipinas settles for second place in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship. While the silver medal finish is an achievement in itself, people cannot help but wonder what could have been had San Miguel players been allowed to join the team. More than anything else, a lot of people feel that the absence of San Miguel players hurt Gilas the most.

The sudden pull-out of San Miguel players from Gilas not only affected the composition of the team. The pull-out shows the ugly politics that prevails over every aspect of Filipino life. It shows that even in basketball, interest groups cannot come together for the good of the country.

Interestingly, there is no explanation, to this day, as to why San Miguel players pulled out from Gilas. Worth thinking about too is why Nickel Asia's offer to fund Gilas to give the management of the national team neutrality was not accepted.

The Filipino people deserve answers. After all, Gilas is the country's national basketball team. It is owned by the entire Filipino people. It is certainly not owned by a single person or group.