With the future composition of the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team still uncertain after seeing seven of its members join the PBA draft, the squad’s management is considering replenishing the ranks with some of the top college stars in the country.

But for men who donned the national colors in their youth, it all boils down to one word: commitment.

Allan Caidic, Jojo Lastimosa, Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano now man the sidelines for their respective PBA and UAAP basketball teams. But once upon a time, the four men were part of the core of several Philippine basketball teams that brought honor to the country.

For these men, playing for the flag took priority over other commitments.

Caidic was a member of the NCC squad that won the 1985 Jones Cup and the 1986 Asian Basketball Confederation Championships in 1986, and represented the Philippines as part of PBA-backed teams in the Asian Games in 1990, 1994, and 1998. He was also part of the coaching staff of the team that competed in the 2002 Asian Games.

And donning the national colors was such an honor for Caidic that he risked getting into trouble with his school, University of the East, just to represent the country.

“There was a time kami ni Jerry Codiñera, pinagalitan din kami ng school because sumama kami sa NCC sa ABC nung 1986,” recalled Caidic.

Caidic and Codiñera were the pillars of the UE Warriors team that won the UAAP championship in 1985. They failed to win in 1986 against the UP Maroons, the season when they missed training time to play with the national team. Since 1985, the Warriors have not won another championship in the UAAP.

For Caidic, however, it was worth it.

“We explained na yung ginagawa namin para sa bayan, so we were really focused on winning the ABC at that time and we won the title because we’re all focused on one goal,” he said.

Winning Maroons

The stars of the 1986 UP Maroons champion also ended up joining the national team a year later. Magsanoc, the star point guard of that squad, said that it derailed the university’s hopes of contending the next season.

“A year after UP won the championship, our school was greatly affected because some of the members represented the country in the SEA Games and other tournaments,” he said.

But like Caidic, Magsanoc noted that there were no regrets, even though UP hasn’t won another championship since its 1986 title.

“It’s a higher calling,” he said of playing for the national team.

Altamirano, a teammate of Magsanoc in UP and in the Philippine team, said that back then, it was clear that the national cause was always the first consideration.

“The Basketball Association of the Philippines before mandated us to prioritize serving the country before our mother teams,” he said.

Defining careers

Lastimosa said that it was the commitment of amateur players to the national team that made the program special.

“Dati talaga, talented amateur players who are not yet 25 years old should be representing the national team,” he said. “Kung ako nga ang tatanungin, dapat yung mga members ng SMART-Gilas should represent the country for two more years.”

Lastimosa pointed to the success of the Philippine team that placed third in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games as proof. He argued that the team, which he bannered along with Caidic, Magsanoc, Altamirano, Codiñera, and Alvin Patrimonio, among others, was better than even the NCC squad — or SMART-Gilas for that matter.

“All members are local bred,” said Lastimosa, referring to the fact that both the NCC and the SMART-Gilas teams featured naturalized players.

He added that the experience of playing for the national squad benefited him immensely.

“Playing for that team defined my career as well,” Lastimosa said.

Questioning priorities

Caidic, Lastimosa, Magsanoc, and Altamirano all acknowledged that the SMART-Gilas vision, on paper, was a good thing for the national team.

But Caidic candidly questioned what happened to that vision.

“Naiiba-iba kasi yung vision nila eh,” he said. “Ano ba talaga ang priority ng mga players? Do they want to win the gold in the FIBA-Asia tournament and play in the Olympics or do they have other priorities?”

“Pinayagan na nga sila na i-reinforce ng PBA players right? Then ang nangyari naman, biglang naiba because some players had to contend for a Grand Slam,” referring to Talk ‘N Text stalwarts Kelly Williams and Jimmy Alapag, who were originally set to join SMART-Gilas but chose to play for the Tropang Texters in the 2011 PBA Governors’ Cup.

“Meron naman na hindi pinayagan ng school,” added Caidic, referring to 7-foot center Greg Slaughter, who left the team temporarily to concentrate on his commitments to Ateneo, and Aldrech Ramos, who is now back with FEU instead of playing for SMART-Gilas.

With SMART-Gilas looking to tap the best amateur talents, perhaps the first question the program should ask the players should be: Where do your priorities lie?

source: Reynaldo Belen -InterAKTV