The Search for the Next Filipino Sniper

The GOAT
(Photo credit to the owner)

Time is quickly running out as you just spent what felt like a lifetime watching a brilliantly executed offensive play push the enemy ahead by two and on the cusp of the title.  The whole arena is on fire while your point guard screams at you and your teammates to get into position for one last shot at victory with no timeouts left to call. All the players, offense and defense, rush down the hardcourt. The mood is chaotic. You could barely hear your teammates and coaches on the bench screaming what play should be run and who should bring the ball down.

It doesn’t matter.

While the defenders try to stop the ballhandler, to whom you’ve already decided to put your whole trust on even before the game started, you run to the wings just above the three-point line.  Your man steps in front of you, so you take a strong cut in, only to run back out. You’ve been in this situation before. The math is simple: three is greater than two. This is why you’re here. Your man scrambles back, but is blindsided by a sturdy pick set by your favorite nuthouse of a power forward. Your point guard makes quick eye contact and in that same breath the dotted texture of the basketball is all that you feel on your fingertips.

The crowd is silenced. Every one falls helpless as you let it fly. There is no point in boxing out for the rebound as the buzzer rings.

Swoosh.

Allan Caidic. The Triggerman. The country’s gift to Philippine basketball. Feared both here and overseas.

Jeffrei Chan. Gary David. Larry Fonacier. Dondon Hontiveros. Marcio Lassiter. James Yap. PJ Simon.

The current crop of designated shooters be it for their respective PBA teams or for Gilas.

We long for the day wherein other snipers would be celebrated—John Wilson, Nino Canaleta, JVee Casio, the sudden emergence of Jayson Castro’s three-ball, ditto with Paul Lee, Mark Macapagal, Ronjay Buenafe, Sunday Salvacion, et. al. The way basketball is currently being played, there is an onus on players being able to make three point shots-- not necessarily shooters by trade, but more like the well-rounded type. We're all for it, but we long for more snipers. For more shooting.  

Of the rookies that came into the league via the 2015 PBA Draft, Garvo Lanete is the clear cut heir apparent to the "Sniper's Throne" while Almond Vosotros serves as the dark horse. 

Honestly, now that we have found a big-sized point guard (Castro, Lee) and a legitimate post threat (Junemar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter), there is a need for developing shooters from the grassroots level. What good is a team that can't spread the floor for its slashers and big men?

Why is it that Asian teams like Korea and Chinese Taipei, who are built roughly around our Gilas' size, are long known for their three point artistry while we are always reduced to being a mere "sideshow" of "flashy" and "undisciplined" street-ballers?

The search is on for the next bunch of Filipino snipers, and that hopefully they can play for flag and country.