I'M SICK OF MORAL VICTORIES.

Spin doctors have called it a "learning trip" as well as a "testing ground". Team officials have labeled it "a success" in terms of solidifying the team as well as in discovering the opponents' strengths and weaknesses.

Somewhere along the way, they forgot to mention that we finished 2-6, with two blowouts from Middle Eastern teams we will surely meet on the Fiba-Asia tournament and losses to teams in our so-called "Group of Hope".

The Iran-Philippines game was called a moral victory, like the Jordan game, the Japan game and the Chinese Taipei game. A game where we officially lost but "actually" won because we, supposedly, were able to accomplish something bigger. It's akin to losing a battle but winning the war.

Now I don't know about you but I don't think we're winning any war. In fact, I think we just proved how ill-equipped we are to fight any basketball war. 

The Jones Cup sportscasters were among the most inept I have ever heard (our PBA sportscasters would kick their butts every which way and twice on Sundays as far as basketball knowledge is concerned) but they were right about some things, mainly, that we will never win in the international stage using our PBA style.

I mean, even NBA stars lost using their NBA style. They had to bring in a college coach and spend 4 years of training in the international style just to win the Olympic gold medal. 

But not us, oh no, heaven forbid. We insist on using our PBA stars and the PBA "me-first" style and attitude, despite the fact that we lose horribly to teams who display more teamwork in one quarter than we do in an entire game.

For us Pinoy basketball fans, what can we do? Hope. Hope that Ehadadi develops a serious case of the runs on game day. Hope that El-Khatib sleeps through his alarm and fails to show up for the game. Hope that James Yap morphs into Kobe Bryant.

But please. Stop it with the moral victories. Accept the loss like a man and move forward.