Black backs PBA move on Asiad

Look elsewhere, and not at the PBA, if you want to send a basketball team to this year’s Asian Games.

Coach Norman Black, who knows Philippine basketball like the palm of his hands, the other day said he doesn’t expect the PBA to reverse its decision not to represent the country in the quadrennial event.

Black, winner of 10 PBA titles and head coach of the RP team to the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, said it would be disadvantageous for the PBA to disrupt its calendar just to be part of the coming Asian Games.

"To tell the PBA now to change its calendar or pull its best players for the Asian Games could be disastrous," said the 6-foot-5 American, who’s either played or coached in the Philippines since 1981.

Black said it would be very difficult for the PBA, which begins its 2006 season next month, to run the league while its best players are competing in the Asian Games.

"If you pull players out in the middle of the conference, then the people will not support the PBA because its stars will be in the Asian Games. And if you don’t win (in Doha) then it’s going to hurt the PBA even more," he said.

The PBA has represented the country in the last four Asian Games, finishing second under coach Robert Jaworski, fourth under Black, third under Tim Cone, and fourth under Jong Uichico.

But last year, the PBA forged an agreement with the Basketball Association of the Philippines that it would no longer be part of the Asian Games.

The PBA completely changed its calendar so it could instead represent the country in other FIBA events like the Asian or World Championships in the hope of making it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I don’t think it would be fair to the PBA to pull its (best) players out of the league in the middle of the season. This should have been settled a long time ago," said Black as some still hope for a PBA stint in Doha.

" I think that will be very difficult. How are you going to pull those players out of the PBA? The experience from the past was that it has to be calendared directly. Otherwise, the PBA will suffer," he explained.

The Philippine Basketball League under commissioner Chino Trinidad said the other day it’ll be more than willing to represent the country in Doha, if and when it’s asked to.

"Of course you can send a PBL team and they can represent the country well but they probably won’t win it," said Black, hinting that only a PBA selection could have a crack at the Asian Games gold.