MANILA, 5 September 2003 — The beleaguered Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) has gone under fire from the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) for its apparent lack of a comprehensive national development program that translates into the failure of the country in its bid to regain Asian hardcourt supremacy.
The BAP, which is facing tremendous pressure because of politics, is the umbrella organization of basketball in the Philippines, which for nearly three decades now is lagging behind Asian powerhouse countries like China and South Korea.
PBL chairman Dioceldo Sy said the BAP problem is due to its lack of concrete programs that would help the Philippines recapture its lost glory in regional basketball.
Sy said China, South Korea, Japan, Chinese-Taipei, as well as the Arab countries like Lebanon, Saudi Arabia have been doing well in Asian competitions because of their long-term basketball programs.
So unless the BAP acts on it, Sy pointed out, the country would not have the chance to at least qualify in the Olympics, which list the last Philippine to have played and finished 13th was in 1972 in Munich.
Owner of Blu Star Detergents, Sy said it would take more than the PBL to have the job done, saying the BAP must get the cooperation of all basketball leagues.
For the country to regain the Philippines’ once lofty billing in Asia, the basketball leadership should exert a lot of efforts, teamwork from the basketball community as well as long preparation and dedication from the BAP officials.
“We need a plan from the BAP. We in the PBL are willing to lend our players anytime for the country. The question is, will they allow us to select players through pur own coaches? We don’t want politics, all we want is to help restore the pride of the country in Asia so we could see action again in the Olympics,” said Sy.
For its part, the PBL has offered the resources and its players to handle the preparations of the national team to this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Obviously, the PBL came to take over what should have been the responsibility of the BAP as the amateur league offered to provide players for the national team, which the BAP could not form in itself.
PBL chairman Chino Trinidad put forward his league’s offer after a consensus was reached among top basketball officials on the need for a real program to boost the country’s chances in international competitions.
One of those who suggested to create a program was the multi-titled coach Jose Lipa.
A many-time national coach, Lipa said the country needs a long-term program to fully prepare for prestigious international meets like the SEAG and the Asiad.
Concurring were newly-appointed Champions’ League commissioner Ramon Fernandez, Basketball Association of the Philippines vice-president Christian Tan, Welcoat coach Leo Austria, Kutitap mentor Junel Baculi and LBC-Batangas coach Nash Racela.
“We have proven that we are always ready to serve the country if duty calls. Last year, when we were asked to create a standby team for the ABC Champions’ Cup in the midst of the basketball crisis, we readily formed a team in less than 24 hours with Baculi and Austria leading the coaching staff,’’ Trinidad said.
Earlier, Trinidad and officials of the BAP welcomed the plan to put together a comprehensive program geared towards the formation of a national team for future campaigns overseas. Trinidad said it’s high time the basketball community comes up with a concrete plan to address this problem.
“I think the PBA has tried everything as far as the Asian Games is concerned. It has tried doing it wit a short-term plan and it has tried doing it for one year,” said Trinidad. “And I think the results only show that there’s no substitute to a long-range plan for the national team.”
The PBA had said the pro league is not inclined to form a team of professional players for the 2006 Asiad, calling instead for the creation of a pool of college and amateur players that would be kept intact for a long time and prepared to take over that commitment.
While the pro league wouldn’t completely turn its back on the national team, PBA commissioner Noli Eala said any support the PBA would throw from hereon would most likely not go as far as forming, training and sending an all-pro team just like it did in the last four editions of the Asiad.
Trinidad said the PBL will throw its whole-hearted support if and when a project of this nature gets off the ground.
“The PBL will always be there to support the national team in whatever way we can,” he said.
Until now, the BAP leadership has not named yet a competitive team to the coming biennial games, which is the lowest level multi-event tournament in the country’s list.
The BAP, which could only form teams plucked from second rate collegiate leagues for small-time invitational leagues, has been at the mercy of private commercial leagues, like the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), which bankrolls its own teams for important international competitions like the Asian Games.
BAP vice-president Christian Tan thanked Trinidad for the offer as he said he’ll be sorting out things at the BAP first and see how the outpour of support will fit into the formation and preparation for the SEA Games national squad.
The BAP’s failure to form a national team is due partly by the fact that its secretary general, Graham Lim, is also facing deportation charges in the Bureau of Immigration for allegedly being a Chinese citizen using a Philippine passport.
