61 years.
That's how long the Philippines waited for the elusive Asian Games gold medal in our favorite sport of basketball.
Once the undisputed king of Asian basketball in the 1950s and 60s, the Philippine slowly slid into the depths of mediocrity, as regional rivals China and South Korea seized the crown from the former Olympics bronze medalists.
Decade after decade, the Philippine men's national basketball suffered embarrassing losses at the hands of the Chinese and Koreans. There was a brief period in the 1980s, however, when the import-laden Northern Cement squad waylaid the two rivals en route to the 1985 ABC championship.
Since then, the Philippines NT hovered between average and mediocrity, interspersed by a few moral victories such as beating their long-time tormentors South Korea during the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila. The best finish that the Philippines could muster was second - in 2013 and 2015.