Face off: Fil-Am issues and the future of Alaska

From: Rafe Bartholomew To: Jaemark Tordecilla Subject: The future of Alaska I don't disagree with the comment (was it Bayno’s?) that if Willie grew up in the States and had access to the best coaching and training available there, he could be even better than he is now. The talent is all there with him. Although for PBA babies like Ravena, I think it’s safe to say that they receive much more advanced coaching and physical training techniques than the average American D-1 player did in high school. For the chosen few kids who get sent into basketball farms like San Beda or, more recently, Ateneo, they’re getting world class attention. The only thing they’re missing is the level of competition they’d find in the States, which may be the missing X-factor that keeps the best Pinoy talents from reaching the highest level. I’ve always said that I’m a fan of players, not teams, so I'm definitely going through a bit of an identity crisis. I want to remain an Alaska fan, because I respect the organization and admire their whole coaching staff and front office, from Jolas and Joel Banal to Tim Cone on up to Joaqui Trillo and Fred Uytengsu. But the roster they’ve assembled just seems matabang. With guys like Willie, Mike Cortez, Nic Belasco, Jeff Cariaso, Sonny and Rey, that 2007 team had a great mix of toughness, creativity and character. Nowadays, the team looks like it has plenty of character and not enough of anything else -- like the Indiana Pacers of the PBA. I know you're a fan of Joaqui’s “wacky" moves. What do you think of the new-look Alaska? Am I underestimating these guys? Will the whole be greater than the sum of the parts? I like Cyrus Baguio, but with the PBA's big money teams loading up on talent like never before, I think letting Willie get away dooms the Aces to being a second-tier team. With a top-five talent like Willie, and Cone's ability to prepare game plans, Alaska could never be counted out. No matter how many all-stars found their way to SMB or TNT, those teams still had no answer for Willie on a hot streak. Skyrus can also take over a game, but not in as many ways as Willie can, and not as frequently. Then again, Baguio isn’t going to go 2 of 19 from the field from time to time like Willie does, so maybe it all evens out in the end. Please click on Jaemark's bobblehead to read his reply.

From: Jaemark Tordecilla To: Rafe Bartholomew Subject: Fil-Ams and racial baggage I get a kick out of the comments by Paeng fangirls, and I sincerely hope that they actually buy your book, instead of just putting your YouTube videos on repeat and daydreaming about you. Sure, they’d marry you, but would they pony up 900 bucks for Pacific Rims? I agree that the issue of Fil-Ams and Filipino identity is a hairy one, and that it would probably be better discussed by academics rather than a couple of hoop-heads who spend their time making Tiu-perman jokes on Twitter. But while we’re here, have you noticed a shift between the earlier waves of Fil-Ams who landed in Philippine shores, and the ones who are now trying to make it to the league? A lot of the new guys are part of a generation of Fil-Ams who are here to connect back with their roots, looking to form a stronger bond with the country apart from just a place where they could earn money playing hoops. It’s an admirable effort, considering a lot of them grew up in “English-only" households because their parents wanted to make sure the kids assimilated well with perfect American accents. Also, for a lot of the younger Fil-Ams, the express lane to Philippine basketball stardom isn’t open anymore. Unless they have the can’t-miss pedigree of guys like Gabe Norwood or Kelly Williams, they end up toiling away in minor league basketball purgatory. Some of them even moonlight in call centers to tide them over; they’re not so different anymore from struggling homegrown kids with PBA hoop dreams. That said, there’s still a lot of hand-wringing about the presence of Fil-Ams in the league, so it really behooves them to make the effort to at least connect to fans, and a lot of that can be done by learning the language. The best case remains Mark Caguioa, who became/remains the darling of Barangay Ginebra despite his perceived Fil-Am roots. I wonder, though, if a lot of the negative view of Fil-Ams, at least from curmudgeonly reporters and fans, isn’t at least tinted by some racial baggage. In your book, you point to subtle racism that manifests itself in Philippine basketball, where team officials take a paternalistic attitude towards their imports, an attitude that’s shared by some fans and reporters. It’s not hard to imagine how this attitude bleeds over towards the Fil-Ams, who often speak and, in some cases look, like imports. In fact, I wonder if the same attitude affects the way fans look at Willie Miller. Despite his immense talent and charisma, fans just don’t seem to discuss him with the same breathless awe that they do with superstars of eras past. Could the fact that Miller is half-black be part of it? Which takes us back to Alaska. My outlook for the team is higher than yours, despite losing Willie Thriller, just because I think Skyrus can replace his production. Cone has coached streaky one-on-one slashers before – think Mr. Excitement Bong Alvarez – and as long Baguio doesn’t get shot outside a seedy massage parlor in Quiapo, I think Alaska’s in good hands. But the real key to the trade is LA Tenorio, and I think Trillo and Cone pulled the trigger on the Miller trade because they’re confident that LA will be able to put it together and become a PBA superstar. I’ll be rooting for him, because Tenorio looks like might be the last great homegrown point guard we’ll see in a while, someone along the lines of Hector Calma, Ronnie Magsanoc, Dindo Pumaren, and Johnny Abarrientos. Then again, Alaska once thought that your doppelganger John Arigo was going to be a star too, and that didn’t turn out well.