PAUL George broke his leg after trying to block the fastbreak layup attempt by his Team USA teammate James Harden in a scrimmage last Saturday in Las Vegas. Injuries happen in basketball anywhere, anytime.
What magnified this injury — that could turn into a catastrophe for Indiana Pacers and Team USA — is the fact that it happened in a televised practice game and involved a young bonafide NBA superstar.
An injury like this should not have happened to an NBA player during an offseason. This is a time for players — including star players — to rest and rejuvenate their worn out bodies.
But no. There’s no rest for these patriots like there is no rest for our very own Gilas Pilipinas players. There is duty for country which, I believe, is a higher cause than playing for a team in the NBA or any other pro league.
But like I said, injuries happen anywhere, anytime. And superstars are not spared from this. Paul George went under the knife right away but still needs 12 to 16 months to recuperate.
Even then, it is not an assurance that he will be back as the Paul George that we know. Just look at another Indiana swingman Danny Granger. He got injured, repaired and rehabilitated but has not recovered his All-Star form even until he was traded by the Pacers last season.
Now, the Pacers will lose Paul George for the entire season. In a season where they also lost their most versatile player Lance Stephenson to free agency. In a season where Indiana has a big chance of taking the Eastern Conference crown from the Miami Heat.
Who will replace Paul George in the Indiana roster? Who will take his place in the US National Team? It will be a big blow to Team USA in the FIBA World Cup slated later this month in Spain.
Sure, players like Harden, Kevin Durant and DeMar Derozan can step in and lead Team USA but surely Paul George’s injury will linger in the back of their minds.
Remember that these players get paid by the millions by their mother teams in the NBA. They have multi-million dollar endorsements and other commitments to their teams.
Nobody would want to get hurt in Spain. Psychologically, this would be in the minds of the NBA stars whenever they drive to the basket, challenge a shot or draw a charge in Spain.
The question remains: Will these NBA players risk their health and give it their 100% at the FIBA World Cup? Same question I would ask naturalized Filipino center Andray Blatche: Magpapakamatay ka ba para sa bansang Pilipinas sa FIBA World Cup gaya ng ginawa ni Marc Pingris at Jayson Castro sa FIBA Asia?
Paul George’s injury had opened a can of worms and basketball leaders around the world would discuss and debate on this in the coming months. Will the NBA continue to lend its players to the International Olympic Committee?
I believe they will and they should. Playing for country should be the ultimate goal for any athlete, just ask Oscar Schmidt of Brazil who refused to join the NBA so he can remain playing for his country in international competitions in the 1980s.
Back then professional players are barred from playing in the FIBA World and the Olympics. Open basketball began in 1992 when the original Dream Team walked away with the gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics.
The burden of playing for flag and country remains with the players, themselves. They take a lot of risk playing in the FIBA World Cup and in the Olympics and their respective NBA teams suffer everytime.
If the player avoids the call of duty, he is branded unpatriotic. If he decides to play for country, he may get injured along the way. If he doesn’t get injured, he will surely feel fatigued when the new NBA season opens.
This is also the reason why the NBA players invited to play Gilas Pilipinas here last month were not allowed to see action. No matter how friendly a game is, there is still a possibility that the NBA player can get hurt.
This is what the league and the players union is trying to avoid. I feel bad for Paul George and the Indiana Pacers. They are the casualties of Team USA’s bid for basketball supremacy.
Even without Paul George, Team USA remains to be the heavy favorites in Spain. Also included in the US pool of players are Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kyle Korver, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward, Kenneth Farried, Mason Plumlee, Andre Drummond and DeMarcus Cousins.
Good luck to the Philippine team that will leave today to compete in the FIBA Under-17 World Championship. The tournament starts on Friday at the Al Ahli Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Filipinos are drawn in Group A along with the Angolans, Americans and Greeks. Group B features Japan, France, Canada and Australia while Group C has Puerto Rico, Italy, Spain and the host country. Rounding up the list of qualifiers are Argentina, Serbia, China, and Egypt, who will all compete in Group D.
The under-sized Philippine team is led by Jolo Mendoza, the Most Valuable Player in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association
(SEABA) Under-16 tournament.
The Philippines nearly made it to the FIBA U17 World Championship in Germany in 2010 and the second edition in Lithuania two years later. Unfortunately, it finished fourth in the Fiba Asia U16 Championship in 2009 and 2011.
Last year, the Filipinos scored a 77-72 victory over Chinese Taipei in the semifinals of the Fiba Asia U16 in Tehran, Iran last year.
Aside from Mendoza, also expected to carry the cudgels for the Batang Gilas are Matt and Mike Nieto of Ateneo as well as Arnie Padilla and Richard Escoto of Far Eeastern University, Paul Desiderio and Diego Dario of University of the Philippines, Carlo Abadeza and Mike Dela Cruz of La Salle Greenhills, Mikel Panlilio of International School and Renzo Navarro of San Sebastian College.
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