Just tonight, a nation watched and witnessed as a band of 12 hopefuls who endured and beat the odds to get to the finals, and lose. But that team didn’t just lose, they lost in a disappointing way.
It’s pretty obvious how disappointing the turn out and preparation for FIBA Asia finals was. Some netizens have even gone as far as to say that the game was rigged, and maybe it was. But there’s also a chance that it wasn’t
I will not be the one to point fingers and blame certain individuals for no-calls, bad preparations, bullying, fixing nets at horrible times and electric trains stopping, but I will also not be the one to say that none of those made a difference.
But I believe that that wasn’t the sure reason that we lost. Would Gilas Pilipinas have won if none of those things happened? Probability would have been higher, but we can never know for sure.
Before anyone throws hate comments at me, please don’t get me wrong. I am not being pro-China, and anti-Philippines. Truth be told, I would have loved to see Gilas reach Rio. But what I am saying is that Gilas didn’t lose because of unfair play. They lost because the team of China was better. They were taller, younger, better funded and more prepared.
There’s nothing wrong with saying that. There’s also nothing wrong with saying that #Puso doesn’t always win games. People with determination have to lose at some point. That’s just how it goes. In fact, that is what makes determination and passion even stronger- loss.
If there are two lessons we can pick up from Gilas’ 2015 FIBA run, it’s these two:
1. We win some, we lose some.
As Filipinos, we must admire and be thankful that we have a team to be proud of. We were there when they lost miserably last year, and as a nation we are still there to support them this time, and even more because we’re getting better!
That’s one thing that losing does to you. It gives you more ‘puso’ and more puso means refining who we are. And we can apply that in any area of our lives. When we lose, it doesn’t mean that we weren’t enough. Competition will always be there, but comparing should never be present.
What’s important is how we handle loss.
2. At the end of the day, the humble ones win.
Two things that are worth mentioning here: First, it doesn’t mean that you lose that you don’t have anything to be proud of. You put up a fight and gave the opponent a run for it.
Second, to be proud and a loser is the worst combination ever. The best thing to do is to leave the past behind (though to be honest, I do wish I could fly all the way to that arena to give the refs a piece of my mind), and think of how we can get even better.
At the end of the day ‘Puso’ isn’t about winning, but about persevering through defeat.
I like when James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
We might not be able to win them all. We can always lose the battle, but the war we fight is much bigger than that, and we still have a long way to go.
Congratulations, Gilas Pilipinas! We are proud of you.
