Why PH invests so much in basketball

This refers to Inquirer’s July 17 editorial, “Equipped for Rio?” It cited our basketball team predictably not making it to the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament. I have long wondered why this “legacy” of the Americans remains our “national sport” when it is totally unsuited vis-à-vis the average physical height of Filipino males.

Having lived in some Southeast Asian countries once colonized by the British, where soccer is the most popular sport, I have seen how short boys and men can excel simply by being mentally alert and fleet-footed.

The fact alone that our pro teams need to import tall “mestizos” for the sport is absurd and makes one wonder why so much is invested in basketball. But our sports authorities aren’t known for their perspicacity and common sense, so there it is.

—CELESTE T. CRUZ, celestetcruz@gmail.com