Gayunpaman, lima sa 11-member countries ay nag-iisip na iapela ang suspension International Basketball Federation (FIBA) sa bansa.
"My heart is always for the Filipinos. I have many old friends here and I promised to back them up on their appeal to lift the suspension. Basketball event would be less-exciting without the Philippine team," ani Arirachakaran.
Bukod sa Thailand, sinabi ni Arirachakaran, ang pinakamataas na opisyal ng SEAG countries na dumalaw sa bansa bago ang Nov. 27-Dec. 5 Games na nagpahayag din ng intensiyong tuluyan ang bansa ang mga perennial basketball contenders na Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam at Singapore.
"You have the best players in the region, there’s no doubt about it. But leadership dispute has affected the basketball system here. There’s still hope, and Thailand is ready to help so the Filipinos could play in the SEA Games," wika pa ni Arirachakaran, presidente rin ng Thailand sepak takraw association.
Maliban sa 1989 edition ng biennial meet sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ang Philippines ang nakakuha ng men’s basketball gold mula nang isama ito sa SEA Games noong 1977.
Nananatiling suspendido ang Philippines sa lahat ng FIBA-sanctioned tournaments including the SEA Games hangga’t hindi ireresolba ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) at ng Philippine Basketball Federation (PBF) ang problema kay Patrick Baumann, ang secretary-general ng FIBA.
Nagtungo si POC president and Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHILSOC) president at chief executive officer Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco Jr. sa Geneva, Switzerland kahapon upang personal na magpaliwanag kung bakit sinuspindi ang BAP ng POC na kumikilala sa PBF bilang bagong basketball association ng bansa.