BAP brings leadership row to CAS

MANILA, Philippines - Despite a Supreme Court ruling upholding the legitimacy of the Basketball Association of the Philippines-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Inc. officials, the leadership woes hounding the sport in the country is far from over.

Former Rep. Prospero Pichay yesterday said his BAP faction, which is contesting the BAP-SBP leadership of Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno and business mogul Manny V. Pangilinan, is seeking relief from another court.

Pichay said as early as last week, they have filed a case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport or CAS, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is the highest form of legal arbitration for disputes in sports under the Olympic umbrella.

The BAP faction tried to stop Moreno and Pangilinan from performing their duties as BAP-SBP chairman and president, respectively, by going to court. But the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise, saying everything is valid as far as the BAP-SBP leadership is concerned.

Pichay is confident that they will have the last laugh with the CAS.

“Once we win the case, the Philippine Olympic Committee and FIBA (International Basketball Federation) will have no choice but to recognize us. Otherwise, the Philippines will be suspended by the International Olympic Committee,” said Pichay.

Meanwhile, with less than two months left before the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos, the composition of the Philippine delegation is still up in the air.

The number of Filipino athletes who will go to Laos remains unsettled with the Philippine Olympic Committee eyeing an entourage of close to 400 athletes and officials, and the government’s funding arm, the Philippine Sports Commission, eyeing less than that.

The deadline for the different national sports associations to submit the official list of their qualified athletes is tomorrow, while the deadline set by Laos organizers is on Oct. 26.

The names to be submitted by the NSAs will be reviewed by the POC even as the PSC wants a say in the final selection since it will provide the funding. The PSC said anything that goes beyond its limit should be handled by the POC. – Abac Cordero