Coming from a basketball-mad country to one that has the sport ranked fifth in popularity, it was not unusual for Malaysian national team head coach Paul Advincula to feel at times, that he was a fish out of water.
But nevertheless, Advincula has risen to the challenge and so far, has the Malaysians on track, winning third place in the recently-concluded Cebu City Mayor’s Cup Invitational.
And with the team also winning second place in the SEABA basketball championships last month to earn for themselves a spot in the Fiba Asia Championship in China later this year, it’s fair to say that Advincula has found the winning formula tailor-made for these Malaysians.
Still, Advincula, a Tacloban-native who took over the position in 2013, recalls the difficulties in shaping the team up.
“It’s very, very challenging in the sense that there’s not a lot of Malaysians that are playing basketball,” said Advincula, who was once part of the coaching staff of the University of the East during the regime of Boyzie Zamar. “It’s a fifth-class sport. Before they go to basketball, they go to other sports first.”
Asked about which part of the game his team had the most challenge with in their basketball tour of the country, Advincula said that undoubtedly, it was the heightened physicality that Filipinos have been known for here in Asia.
“They (Malaysians) thought that they (Filipinos) were hurting them intentionally. I told them it’s a mind game. They are trying to make you lose your focus and that is what I want them to learn. No matter how good a player is, if he loses focus, he’s no good,” Advincula said.
After a packed schedule that also saw the Malaysians troop to Ormoc for an outreach program recently, there will be no rest for the weary as the team goes back to work immediately with the Southeast Asian Games set for next month.
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