Why Do We Do This To Ourselves?

Watching Gilas battle China for the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship was difficult, almost painful even.  From the pre game and in game shenanigans, partial officiating, to the unruly crowd, to the shots that went in and out, it was a nightmare.  It was the worst case scenario.  It was watching a time bomb count down and any wire you cut results in explosion anyway.  It was like watching your friend or your relative go after something or someone they want when it was clear to you and to them the odds would never be in their favor.  It was like that scene in the Matrix, when the character Switch realized she was going to die because they were betrayed.  “Not like this,” she lamented.

As Gabe Norwood crumpled to the floor from a finger to the eye and the referee just watching the ball go out of bounds, there was really only one question.  

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Every year, the PBA, UAAP, NCAA and the SBP never get their schedules straight to allow for the formation of a solid national team program with continuity.  Every year, the Filipino basketball players who step up and agree to sacrifice their time, effort and skills have to continually try to gain the respect and support of the very people they represent.  Every year for the past 30 years, injuries, faulty officiating, lack of preparation, injuries have alternately prevented us from becoming Asian basketball champions.  Every year, we get our hearts broken.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Perhaps, this time, the answer is on the internet.  A cursory look at social media sites would find a deluge of emotion. From anger, to sadness to pride, Filipinos let the world know how they felt.  There was a surge of passion so strong that it unleashed the Filipino’s ingenuity and creativity.  Everyone got a laugh with the snarky comments about “home cooking,” Macanese cuisine and cooking shows, plus a Chinese fast food chain with a sheepish fake apology. There was genuine respect and pride for the Gilas Pilipinas players who exceeded expectations and achieved some firsts.  There was genuine love and hurt as everyone realized that all the hard work and sacrifices Gilas made would not net them a gold medal everyone wanted them to have.

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This is why we do this to ourselves. 

Because life should never be about which players should have been on the team or not.  It is never about what ifs or what could have

beens.  It shouldn’t be about how unfair it is to work so hard and then lose in a rigged game.  Because life is all about developing, nurturing and harnessing your passion.  It is about making an entire nation stand still and swell with national pride.  It is reminding your people that our nation, while often on the wrong side of a fight against a super power, fights with #puso.  It is showing them that age, lack of height, lack of funds or lack of preparation will not prevent you from performing well. It is showing your people that nationalism isn’t about ranting about traffic or corruption but about sacrificing your bodies, and much coveted time with your families to represent your country well. It is revealing that there are still people who choose national interest over personal concerns.

We do this to ourselves every year because as much as it hurts, it is also what keeps us alive with passion and love.  Gilas Pilipinas undergoes the wayward elbows, the catcalls, the frustrations, the sacrifices, the injuries and the heartbreak so that we can be reminded of the very thing that makes us truly Filipino. Bayan bago sarili.

Puso.