Readers fed up with squabbling

The Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) doesn’t seem to be bothered by the suspension it was slapped by the General Assembly of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

As if to openly defy the General Assembly, the BAP recently announced a new set of officers. The announcement mentioned a "selection" although two officers were apparently "elected."

I wonder if the BAP’s Constitution and By-Laws provided for the "selection" or "election" at this time of the year. Or does it really matter since the BAP has been known to simply do as it pleases, when it pleases.

There was no reference to long-time BAP legal counsel Boni Alentajan in the announcement, raising speculation the "new order" may be distancing itself from the organization’s most outspoken defender.

With the General Assembly poised to expel the BAP as the country’s National Sports Association (NSA) for basketball, why the brouhaha about the "new" officers?

There is talk of trying to strike an amicable settlement with POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr. Is it too late? The newly-organized Philippine Basketball Federation (PBF) is set to take over from the BAP as the NSA for basketball but while the General Assembly confirmation is no problem, recognition from the Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) may take time.

The BAP is playing its cards smartly. Realizing that FIBA won’t likely bestow its blessings on the PBF overnight, the BAP is buying time and trying to save itself from extinction. NSA accreditation is necessary for the Philippines to send a national team to the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Championships in Singapore this August. Without the accreditation, the Philippines loses its chance to play in the FIBA-Asia qualifying tournament.

The question is: Will the PBF be recognized by FIBA in time to accredit the Philippine team for the SEABA Championships? If not, the BAP will still be a convenient survivor to do the job and the POC may end up owing a big favor to the much-maligned organization.

The BAP is insisting on sending its own version of a national team, without PBA reinforcements, to the SEABA tournament–if only to prove it’s not useless. Coach Boysie Zamar is guaranteeing no less than a championship for the BAP squad.

As envisioned, the PBF will represent the country’s major stakeholders in basketball. The sport’s major stakeholders are not represented in the BAP–which is why it has found it impossible to assemble competitive national teams for high-caliber international competitions.

The POC’s move to expel the BAP and replace it with the PBF is a step in the right direction because it rationalizes what the NSA for basketball should stand for.

Readers who can’t stomach the squabbling wrote in their thoughts. Here are a few samples.

From Jed Nava of [email protected]:

"My blood pressure is up again the past days when I read about the sudden turnaround of the BAP. Very unfortunate indeed. Perhaps they do not realize that it is common knowledge to all of us Filipinos about the inefficiencies of the people comprising the BAP and I mean ALL. Everybody has seen their programs, their participation in different basketball competitions, never mind the results as they were truly disgusting. And now here they are again trying to be Mr. Know It All in basketball.

"When can we ever expect better performance from these people? And what has Boy Codiñera contributed to Philippine basketball? Transformed baseball into basketball or was it basketball to baseball? What a waste of taxpayers money, keeping these people at the BAP. Mga walang delicadeza. Nakakainit ng ulo. These people should be the ones gunned down and not those media men.

"May the Lord God send His Holy Spirit to enlighten the minds of these people that they may have the wisdom to do what is better for Philippine basketball and the humility to accept the people’s clamor for them to step down from their termite-infested posts."

From Philip Buitizon of [email protected]:

"I know there a few people that like the now demolished Cebuana Lhuillier team. But to continue to support it when they have failed miserably to a bunch of veteran and never heard of players with no imports. You just have to abandon this one and seek help from other leagues which are far more competitive and have better players not has beens or big guys that have not proven anything.

"Losing to the Paranaque Jets with Antonio Acquitania as one of their players who played in that championship game, humiliating the Cebuana team without any imports. You are jeopardizing the training of the PBA players to represent in the ABC Championships. This should be a sign that the BAP should be abolished and form a new basketball super body to help our basketball system, not the one that is run by not even a Filipino."