P20-M PBA war chest for Asiad

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is willing to spend at least P20 million for the formation, preparation and actual participation of the national team to next year’s Asian Games and Pusan, South Korea.

This was agreed upon recently by the members of the PBA board for as long as the pro league’s expenses do not exceed the budget used for its 1998 Asiad campaign in Bangkok where the Philippines settled for the bronze medal behind China and Korea.

League sources said close to P24 million was spent three years ago as part of the national team’s preparations, including its stint in the PBA Centennial Cup and an inter-state tour of US where the Nationals went up against tough collegiate squads.

Since there are no definite plans yet regarding out-of-the-country tuneup stints for the Pusan-bound squad, the PBA is planning to spend more on scouting the opposition — a very crucial factor according to American head coach Ron Jacobs.

In fact, commissioner Jun Bernardino wants every team considered a threat to the Filipinos scouted, including Kazakhstan and the other former Soviet republics, vastly-improved Lebanon, and of course perennial contenders China, Korea and Japan.

The scouting will be done especially in international tournaments where the Philippines is not participating – like the World Championship scheduled in Indiana in August. China, still considered as the top favorite in the coming Asiad, will be there along with Lebanon.

"The PBA will spend a lot more in scouting this time. The commissioner wants every opponent scouted, particularly those teams that we seldom meet on the court," said a PBA source, who added that a pool of scouts might be formed just for this particular purpose.

This early, the PBA is also preparing to take steps that would ensure a trouble-free campaign for the Nationals in Pusan. Included in the plans are the hiring of Korean-speaking, Korean-based Filipinos to serve as liaison officers, and hotel, transportation and even restaurant reservations.

"We are not going to rely alone on the liaison officers to be provided by organizers. We want our fellow Filipinos who speak Korean, and who know the place to guide us. Regarding the transportation, the commissioner wants the same…we will try to hire our own," the source added.

This way, the Nationals will be safe from the dirty tricks that might be used by the hosts.

"They’ve been used against us before. Like bus drivers who take longer routes so we’d reach the venue late. We also want good food and safe water for our players. We’re not going to take any chances. We also need extra hotel rooms where our players and officials can meet regularly and maybe review some tapes safe from the prying eyes of our opponents."