Intention vs mechanism

It is finished.

The Philippine Olympic Committee knocked the Basketball Association of the Philippines out of Philippine sports by expelling the national sports association with 33 votes the other day. Despite efforts by the BAP to bridge the gap between the two entities and restore reform by electing officials with unquestionable credibility, the deed is done.

Or is it?

With the verdict comes the implied threat that all other NSAs face the same fate should they not follow the law of the POC to the letter. Strangely enough, the POC has only said that the BAP has not honored certain agreements, and did not cite performance (or lack of it) as the reason for the expulsion.

Again, one cannot question the intention of the POC to institute reform, until you look at how it was enforced. First, the BAP is definitely not at the bottom of the ladder in terms of performance. A handful of NSAs have been unable to even follow simple rules on submission of requirements for the SEA Games, for example. Others have not been able to even organize major competitions to determine their own national rankings. So why pick on the BAP first?

Secondly, this was all propelled by the loss of the RP SEABA team (then known as RP Cebuana Lhuillier) to the Parañaque Jets in the finals of the NBC pre-season tournament three months ago. Again, to clarify, the team beat the Jets by a substantial margin in the elimination round–as they did all the other teams–despite playing with an injured and new point guard. The nationals had previously lost Egay Echavez to Ginebra and Dennis Madrid to injury, and BJ Manalo was on his honeymoon. Nobody in the media seems to realize that, in the championship game, the Jets, composed of ex-pros, purposely roughed up the nationals, sending some of them sprawling to the floor. Since then, the nationals (now a guest team in the ongoing actual NBC tournament) have gotten back at the Jets, and then some. And, incidentally, the Jets are not composed of actors, as some city officials exaggerate. Do you think they would risk their livelihood in a meaningless tournament?

Third, unlike the aforementioned other NSAs, the BAP did make an effort to change, albeit belatedly. It is ironic that the other supposed stakeholders in the sport who did not support the team in the first place are now lining up to replace it. Is there honor in setting them up like that? So far, the BAP has kept functioning, and is sending a team to the SEABA in Malaysia tomorrow.

Fourth, what does it mean for the POC to suspend the BAP, and who will suffer? FIBA-Asia is holding a meeting in Malaysia today, and undoubtedly, BAP president Joey Lina and vice-president Christian Tan will report what has taken place here. But the POC cannot touch the BAP unless the FIBA revokes the BAP’s status. So was it all sound and fury signifying nothing? Besides, the team is still going, and they still have to win, or else the PBA Philippine team will not even have the opportunity to join any FIBA-Asia tournament en route to a possible Olympic berth.

Fifth, if not the BAP, then who? The supposed election of the POC-backed PBFI was called off, because those involved did not have the support of their mother organizations. If the stakeholders of the sport itself don’t support the PBFI, who will fill the vacancy left by the BAP? Ultimately, if the scenario stays the same, there will be no basketball in the SEA Games. Will the POC then blame the BAP for that, as well? And would the PBA and other groups join an entity clearly motivated by political gain more than actual reform?

Sixth, what happens if and when the International Olympic Committee gets wind of developments here? Unlike the POC and scared local NSAs, the IOC is an impartial entity. If the IOC finds no merit in the POC’s actions (since the grounds of lack of performance and corruption have not been established) and realizes that the BAP is no longer able to function, the IOC may go to the extent of suspending the entire Olympic program in the country, as provided for in the Olympic Charter. In short, we will become spectators to our own SEA Games. The Philippines then becomes the laughing stock of the sporting world. And for what? Nobody really knows.

Seventh, if the divorce between the POC and BAP (and hence, FIBA) maintains, then we can technically still play in the FIBA-Asia tournaments, but, even if we qualify for the Olympics, will we be allowed to play, since the BAP is not part of the POC? Besides, it is still FIBA that runs the international basketball competitions from the Olympics on down to the SEA Games under the Olympic umbrella.

Eighth, what will the stand of the Philippine Sports Commission be? Chairman Butch Ramirez’s offer to mediate between the POC and BAP went unheeded, but the government agency is still tasked to provide logistical support for all national sports associations. If the BAP needs resources for an international competition not covered by the Olympic program (and most of them are), is the PSC still going to support them? Knowing the straight arrow that Ramirez is, he most likely will. The PSC is, after all, answerable to the president of the republic, and not the POC.

I repeat, one cannot question the POC’s motives to create positive change, until you watch how it was done. Why the haste to banish the BAP? Why strong-arm a group into reform? Is dictatorship the answer to every problem in Philippine sports? And who will take over in the unlikely event that the BAP is disowned by FIBA?

These are questions that even the media has been strangely quiet about.

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Catch this week’s episode of The Basketball Show over ABC 5 at 3 p.m.