Asiad pullout shocks PBA

JORDAN CLARKSON. AFP PHOTOS “But he answered that they want support on Fiba qualifier.

The Philippine Basketball Association board of governors was surprised over the sudden turn of events that led to the withdrawal of the national men’s basketball team from the 18th Asian Games.

The powerful body said it wasn’t consulted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas over its decision to pullout the squad, which was supposed to be bannered by Rain or Shine as agreed upon in a board meeting few hours before.

This development hurt and shocked the PBA board, which committed to help the SBP in the formation of the Asian Games squad following the massive sanctions handed out by the International Basketball Federation.

“I think when it comes to putting up teams, the best thing SBP could have done before making a decision was to consult (PBA) commissioner Willie Marcial and the board which it did not do,” said PBA vice chairman Dickie Bachmann of Alaska.

PBA treasurer Raymond Zorilla of Phoenix said the SBP should have kept them in the loop since they are also stakeholders, who only want to send the best team in the most prestigious athletic conclave in Asia.

“We could have been informed also, whether we’re consulted or not, we could have been informed beforehand,” Zorilla said, adding that the board was clueless with the sudden change of heart by the country’s cage federation.

In fact, Marcial, who only learned about this development from SBP president Al Panlilio around 10 pm on Thursday, said the Asian Games isn’t part of his original agreement with Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes.

He said he asked Reyes numerous times which tourney is he thinks they need the PBA backing, but the outspoken mentor was firm on saying that they need support in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier.

“Just to give you a background, I asked coach Chot numerous times which tournament he wants us to help because we couldn’t commit to both the Asian Games and Fiba qualifier,” said Marcial.

“But he answered that they want support on Fiba qualifier.”

Still, the pro league threw its support to both tourneys, especially in the wake of the massive brawl that led to Fiba sanctions.

They tapped Rain or Shine to spearhead the formation of the team with the help of NLEX, Gilas cadet and a couple of Filipino-foreign players like Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle and NBA player Jordan Clarkson.

The board members also already booked tickets to Jakarta to show their all-out support to the federation and the PBA-backed team.

But the SBP backed out at the last minute.

Even worse, majority of the PBA board members learned this on social media.

“We had no idea what happened and only learned about this on social media,” said San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua during an emergency press conference before Game 1 of the San Miguel-Ginebra best-of-seven finals series.

“I think commissioner Willie did his best to make it happen. He did everything to tak to the governors so everybody can help. We all agreed. But to put the blame on the PBA – it think that’s not fair.”