Remembering the 1998 Centennial Team: Our last Asian Games basketball medalists

It’s quite unfortunate that the Philippines would not field a basketball delegation to the upcoming Jakarta Palembang Asian Games.

The quadrennial meet has long been a showcase of the country’s basketball wizardry, from the time the Philippines won the very first Asian Games basketball gold medal in New Delhi in 1951 and in three-straight subsequent stagings of the Games to those memorable campaigns in Beijing in 1990 and in Bangkok in 1998.

Philippine Dream Team

We notched the silver in that memorable 1990 run, which was the first time professional players represented the country with the legendary Robert Jaworski as coach, and such stalwarts as Mon Fernandez, Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio, Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras forming the nucleus.

Formed to wrest back Asian supremacy in basketball, this “Philippine Dream Team” almost fulfilled it even winning over North Korea and Japan in the eliminations and semifinals, but lost twice to titan China, who won the gold medal match, 90-74.

After this respectable silver finish, the Philippine team tried again to bag the gold in the next Asian Games in Hiroshima with PBA players anew in its lineup, such as Johnny Abarrientos, Marlou Aquino, Jerry Codinera, Ato Agustin, Kenneth Duremdes with Beijing Games alumni Patrimonio, Calma, and Caidic. But their efforts went for naught as the Norman Black-coached Philippine team went home empty handed following as loss to host Japan in the third-place game.

With this debacle, national basketball officials and the PBA made it a point to send a team that stands the best chance of realizing that dream of winning once more the Asiad basketball gold the Philippines last bagged in the 1962 Games also in Jakarta.

Centennials

The next opportunity was in 1998 in Bangkok, the year of the Centennial celebration of Philippine independence. As such, the country’s basketball team that will compete in the Bangkok Games was dubbed the Philippine Centennial Team—a selection of Philippine basketball’s best at the time, from the player line-up to the coaching staff.

Comprising the Centennial team were Andy Seigle, Jojo Lastimosa, Dennis Espino, Jun Limpot, Vergel Meneses, EJ Feihl, and Olsen Racela joining the star holdovers from the 1990 and 1994 teams Patrimonio, Caidic, Aquino, Abarrientos, and Duremdes. The now winningest coach in Philippine basketball, Tim Cone mentored the team, with assistants Chot Reyes and Aric del Rosario.

Preparations were aggressive, tactical, and expansive.

The team participated in the 1998 PBA All-Star Games, wherein they swept a PBA All-Star Selection in two games.

The Centennials then went on to compete in the 1998 William Jones Cup and again swept the international tournament, capping their campaign with a stirring win over host Chinese-Taipei, 82-72, in the championship game.

Infamous brawl

After their triumphant feat, they would go on a grueling scrimmage tour against NCAA teams in the Midwestern US. In on