Nice try.. Let's go all the way next time.

The dream came to an end, just today. But just like what those other guys say, every new beginning comes from somewhere in the beginning’s end.

Let’s use this as a painful learning experience.

I feel bad about the loss of our national team. I never really expected them to fall in the preliminary round, but then again, we just have to accept the fact that they fought, they played hard but they came up short.

After all, it’s their efforts and their hard work that counts anyway.

Right now, they should go home with their heads up. We played against three Championship caliber teams and yes, we gave them one hell of a scare, we gave them a run for their money. Besides, our two losses could’ve gone the other way around. For some reason our shots weren’t falling and the breaks aren’t just going our way, and that’s the way basketball goes. We’ve made lots of mistakes but we can start from there. Study, think and scout why it ended up that way, and hopefully we can pick up from where we left off and go all the way next time.

Right now is not the time to point fingers at each other

I’ve got to admit, indeed, there were players who didn’t really showed up as advertised in the tournament. Hell, even the coaching staff had their own share of mistakes and flaws in the past three games, but hey, this is not the time to point fingers at each other. Everyone has had their own share of mistakes and to point a finger at a player is just plain pointless. They fell down as a team, I think it would be better off if they would rise up as a team too.

So what’s next?

Look for other styles of play. Let’s face it, we’re not as big and as skilled as those NBA players to rely on isolation plays. We don’t have a guy like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant to take over the game for us. And yes, after the past international basketball tournaments I’ve seen, that kind of play would never work. Especially with our team.

I say we keep this team, or maybe the core of the team. We don’t need a major revamp on the lineup right now. What we need is a major revamp on the system. Like what I’ve said, it takes years, not months to be competitive in international tournaments like this one.

And yes, we appreciate the effort.

Let’s give credit to where credit is due, and yes, I think our national team deserves some credit. Yes, they weren’t able to crack into the quarterfinals but hey, they’ve represented us well and that’s all that matters. We can never discount the sacrifices that they have made for this team.

And as for the detractors?

Well, I suggest you form your own national team, get a coach, get a passport, fly to Japan and back your freaking words up with some action. If you can’t, I suggest you just shut the eff up.