SAP hand weaves Gilas magic

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Willie Marcial (seated middle) stresses a point about the newly-formed National Team to the Asian Games as (seated from left) Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio, PBA Chairman and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) Sports Director Alfrancis Chua and NLEX coach now national team mentor Yang Guiao listen intently along with the PBA Board of Governors standing behind. roman prospero NATIONALS ON TO ASIAN GAMES

Stakeholders listened to the clamor from the basketball fans.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) yesterday recalled Gilas Pilipinas’ withdrawal from the Asian Games as a hastily formed team got unanimous support from the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Board of Governors.

League governors assembled yesterday on the request of Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and signified their support to the team that will fill in for the Gilas squad that was decimated by the suspensions imposed by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) for the bench-clearing melee that marked the PH-Australia World Cup window in Bulacan last 2 July.

But the team will no longer solely feature players from Rain or Shine, the top quintet at the end of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round as earlier agreed upon by the team representatives.

The national team will be beefed up by more players on loan from the other PBA squads, an unexpected development that would not have happened if not for the intervention by SAP Go who relentlessly pursued the team owners and league officials in convincing them to save the Philippine basketball campaign in the Asiad.

“Sec. Bong Go spent four days talking to the stakeholders. Then he personally asked the PBA last night to give the national team a strong final push. We talked among officials of the SBP and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), along with the PBA governors to make this happen,” PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said.

Officials of the POC, SBP and the PBA met yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum prior to Game Five of the Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Championship Series between San Miguel Beer and Ginebra San Miguel.

They emerged from the meeting with a list to replace the suspended Gilas team with Rain or Shine players Maverick Ahanmisi, Chris Tiu, Gabe Norwood, James Yap, Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan comprising the core of the squad.

But the PBA Board infused the team with Stanley Pringle (Globalport), Paul Lee (Magnolia), Christian Standhardinger (SMB), John Paul Erram (Blackwater) and Don Trollano (Talk ‘N Text).

The squad will not have a naturalized reinforcement following the FIBA suspension of Andray Blatche, also a TNT import.

The FIBA imposed suspensions on Jayson Castro, Terrence Romeo, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario—all of TNT.

Also meted with suspensions and fines were Calvin Abueva, Carl Bryan Cruz, Jio Jalalon, Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright.

Missing from the original Gilas lineup are June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Baser Amer of NLEX. Fajardo, Amer and Norwood were the only Gilas players who did not figure in the 2 July melee.

Go admitted meeting with the basketball stakeholders, saying: “We agreed to consider sending a team to the prestigious quadrennial tournament. It’s going to be a wasted opportunity if we had not.”

“Basketball is in the heart of the Filipinos. So, it is very regrettable if we are not represented in this prestigious competition,” Go said.

“The entire Philippine delegation should be rest assured that the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is behind this team all the way,” Go added. “It doesn’t matter whether they win or lose. The most important thing is to assemble a team and unite the country in supporting the national team.”

NLEX coach Yeng Guiao, incidentally, also the former mentor of Rain or Shine, will handle the team vice Chot Reyes who was also suspended by the Fiba for inciting his players to play rough against the Australians.

Three Australian players were also suspended by the Fiba. They are Daniel Kickert, Thon Maker and Chris Goulding.

POC president Ricky Vargas, who is also the chairman of the PBA, cited three reasons for reconsidering the Asiad withdrawal.

He said the stakeholders listened to the clamor from the basketball fans to send a team to the Asiad.

Also the PBA team owners, on the initiative of San Miguel Corp. Sports Director Alfrancis Chua, offered their players to beef up the National Squad.

And third, Vargas said SAP Bong Go made sure to pull all stops in getting the PBA and the SBP synched towards the formation of the new squad.

“It’s going to be a competitive team,” Vargas said. “We also promise the basketball fans that we’re sending a team that they will be proud of watching play in the Asian Games.”