Schrempf trip postponed

It wasn’t a complete surprise when former National Basketball Association (NBA) star Detlef Schrempf decided to postpone his scheduled April visit here to sometime late this year.

The war in Iraq and the SARS scare were the main reasons for the postponement which was recently announced by Schrempf’s hoops camp director Brooks Meek with a heavy heart.

But Schrempf is determined to push through with the project, called the Adidas "Understand the Game," in the fall. It’s a commitment that he has made to Filipino hoop fans who are eagerly awaiting his visit. The tour will take Schrempf to Olongapo and Lipa where former Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) player Jeffrey Flowers, now living in Manila with his Filipina wife, is setting the stage for "grassroots" clinics as his local coordinator.

"As you know, the US has waged a war on Iraq and the State Department has issued a global travel warning," said Meek in an e-mail to The Star. "Further, the World Health Organization has issued a warning on non-essential travel to the Philippines because of the unique pneumonia virus spreading in Asia. Based on these facts, we are strongly considering postponing (the trip) to fall. We have been consulting with the State Department regularly and are looking at all of the circumstances."

Meek said he realizes that students will be back in school in the fall but "doing the camps on the weekends would make it possible."

Adidas assistant manager for sports marketing Goody Custodio said Schrempf himself wrote to the sponsoring company to express his regrets and ask for suggestions on when to reschedule the trip.

"Summer would’ve been perfect because there is no conflict with the schedule of classes," said Custodio. "For later this year, we’re looking at two weekends so as not to disturb the public school schedule. We’re coordinating with Jeff to figure out the best possible alternative."

The trip would’ve introduced former University of San Francisco coach Bob Gaillard to the Filipino basketball community. Gaillard had agreed to lecture on coaching and share his basketball insights with Filipino coaches. The US Ambassador would’ve also hosted a dinner for the visitors with the country’s top sports officials as invited guests. All that will be reset for the fall.

Schrempf, however, said the door remains open for two Filipino coaches to travel to Oregon in July for sessions at the US Basketball Academy at his foundation’s expense.

"Of course, we will continue ahead with selecting the Filipino coaches to come to the US," said Meek.

Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP) and AYN Sports Management Group president Chito Narvasa is coordinating the selection process for Schrempf. Narvasa will accompany the two coaches to the US at his personal expense.

"The opportunity of sending two young, aspiring Filipino coaches to the US is a welcome development," said Narvasa. "We are grateful to the Detlef Schrempf Foundation for this chance. We have asked the BCAP’s regional directors to get applications from deserving candidates and we will forward the applications to Mr. Schrempf."

Narvasa said his spirit isn’t dampened by the decision to postpone the trip. "It’s a mere postponement, not a cancellation," he noted. "What we are embarking on is a program, not merely an event, and therefore, this will be a continuing affair."

Narvasa suggested rescheduling the trip during the semestral break, towards the end of October and The Start of November. He said if the schedule permits, the visitors could also conduct one or two camps in Metro Manila "to serve as our launching pad for future programs."

As for Schrempf’s commitment to send two Filipino coaches to the US, Narvasa said it affirmed the former NBA star’s sincerity. "I’m glad that the coaches program is pushing through," he continued. "It speaks well of Mr. Schrempf and his group."

Narvasa said he has written Meek to request for videos or published material on basketball drills that could be incorporated into a regular curriculum for BCAP members.

"If Adidas will join in, we can actually develop a center for basketball development, both for coaches and players, using the tools provided by Mr. Schrempf’s foundation," said Narvasa. "We’ve got the national basketball landscape to work with and we can cover scouting in the countryside, too. With the proper partners, we can put together a nationwide basketball masterplan."