Lim kinondena ni Puyat

Kinondena kahapon ng two-time FIBA president Gonzalo ‘Lito’ Puyat II si Gra-ham Lim bunga ng ‘pagwasak nito ng tulay ng pagkakaibigan at kooperasyon’ na kanyang itinatag sa PBA simula pa noong 1990 sa pagdedesisyon na hayaan ang BAP na mag-isang bumuo ng national team, sa lahat ng international tour-naments kabilang ang Asian Games at ABC.

"There were several dis-agreement before we (BAP and PBA) finally got together," wika pa ni Puyat. "Now that the partnerships is working well, why would Lim, whose Filipino citizenship is under serious question, suddenly cut it?," dagdag pa ni Puyat.

Ipinahayag pa ni Puyat na ang tanging pag-asa na makabalik sa Olympic Games at World Basketball Cham-pionships ay ang tagumpay ng national team sa ABC at Asian Games.

"Sadly, we cannot expect to succeed unless the PBA, which boasts the best players in the land, supports our Asiad and ABC campaigns," dagdag pa ni Puyat.

Sinabi pa ng long-time BAP president na ang pakikipag-tieup ni Lim sa Cebuana Lhuillier, na iniulat na siyang sumasagot sa lahat ng proyekto ng BAP na ginagastusan ng milyong piso ay "does not guarantee the formation of a team strong enough to help us reclaim our Asian cage dominance."

"We need the PBA. We need the help of all basketball stakeholders in the country. We need to unite and make personal sacrifices," wika pa ni Puyat. "But Graham (Lim) seems unaware of his respon-sibility as a cage official. He appears bent on destroying basketball."

Ang pagtalaga kay Sen. Robert Jaworski, dating supertar ng PBA bilang coach ng 1990 RP team ni Puyat ang nagresulta ng BAP-PBA tieup na tinawag ang naging desis-yon ni Lim na isang "pure fantasy" habang sinabihan naman ni PBA Chairman Buddy Encarnado si Lim na hindi nito dapat kalimutan ang responsibilidad hindi lamang sa BAP kundi para sa bansa.

Idinagdag pa ni Puyat na mayroon pang pagkakataon si Lim na muling pag-isipan ang kanyang desisyon. "He still has time to turn around, unless, of course, he’s committed his decision to his moneyed sponsor."