SBP sacrifices Gilas' Asiad bid for long-term goal

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas said he supports Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ withdrawal of participation in the coming Asian Games as he understands their shift of focus from the 2019 World Cup to the next world championship that the country is hosting in 2023.

Complex it may be, Vargas said he accepts SBP’s decision to regroup for the meantime in preparation for an effort to lay down a program beyond 2019. The federation is reeling from the FIBA sanctions suffered in the aftermath of the Gilas-Australia brawl.

Vargas, also the current PBA chairman and former SBP vice chair, hinted at the possibility of bringing back the original Gilas program where the national players are focused on playing for the national team.

“They say they’re regrouping, preparing for an appeal and getting to ready to work on a new program. The most telling is that they’re now looking forward to 2023. They’re no longer focused on 2019. It’s very difficult for them to make that decision. We should take it for what it is,” said Vargas.

“I appreciate the reasons they’re saying. It’s complex, difficult and not popular. But it is what it is,” Vargas also said.

As Vargas understands, it’s not about the composition of the lineup “but the principle close to the heart of the SBP.”

 The national cage federation announced the pullout of Team Philippines from the 2018 Asiad curiously hours after a press conference to announce the appointment of coach Yeng Guiao and the core of the Rain or Shine team to represent the country in the Jakarta Games.

In a meeting Thursday night, the SBP had a change of heart, deciding against sending the team as “the time and chance to participate in the 2018 Asian Games would not be optimal.”

In a three-paragraph statement, the federation stressed, though, that it remains committed to the continuous development of Philippine basketball and to attain the best possible results for the national team in the global stage.

Meanwhile, they say they will regroup as they try to improve their programs to ensure respectable performance in international meets.

Vargas stressed the PBA is not to blame.

“Very myopic,” said Vargas in his reaction to the PBA bashers in social media.

“First, the reason we came out with the one-team philosophy plus the cadets was because if we put together players from different teams, we have to reschedule the PBA games, and the PBA has to stop. No. 2, the PBA didn’t stop teams that were willing to lend their players. The PBA was generous to lend a team and re-schedule the games of that team. We just couldn’t reschedule games of all the teams,” Vargas explained.

The SBP had expressed gratitude to Rain or Shine and team owners Raymond Yu and Terry Que for their willingness to represent the country.

Vargas insisted SBP’s decision “is more than basketball.”

“Malalim ang kanilang pinanggagalingan and they needed to regroup. They’re hurting,” said Vargas of the federation that lost a handful of players in the aftermath of the Gilas-Australia brawl.

Still to be determined are the players and the coach to be sent to the next windows of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, the Philippines will be out for only the second time in 18 editions of the Asian Games. Team Philippines was out in the 2006 Doha Games when the Philippine federation was then suspended in the FIBA rolls.