FIBA suspends RP

The Philippines was suspended by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in an unprecedented move spawned by the expulsion of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and threw in disarray the country’s preparations geared at possible crack in the World Championships and the Olympics.

The FIBA ruling thus barred the country from competing in all international tournaments sanctioned by the world governing body, including the SEABA (South East Asian Basketball Association) men’s basketball championship, which starts today in Kuala Lumpur, and possibly the 23rd Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting in November.

The Philippines is the defending champion in both the SEABA tilt and the SEA Games.

In a strongly worded letter to POC president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco affirming its support to the BAP, FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann wrote: "FIBA will continue to recognize BAP as the legitimate National Federation affiliated to FIBA and responsible for basketball in the Philippines."

The world cage body also lashed out at the hasty decision of the POC in expelling the BAP, saying: "FIBA does not recognize your decision."

In the same letter dated July 3, 2005, the FIBA, headed by its president Carl Ching Menky, said "it will not transfer to the POC the responsibility for basketball in your country at this stage," stressing that the (POC) request in this sense is thus rejected.

The FIBA said it will investigate in more detail the POC-BAP case. It asked the POC to submit a "precise explanation" of what it considers as "continuing defiance and intransigence" which led to the expulsion of the BAP from the POC.

"We welcome this investigation and the sooner this is conducted, the better for us," was Cojuangco’s reply to the FIBA letter, which also stated that the FIBA reserves it right to legally challenge the POC decision in front of the CAS.

The CAS is the Court of Arbitration for Sports (Tribunal Arbitral du Sport), which is considered by many as the mother of all mediators in sports, especially in long-drawn cases or disputes involving sports associations, in this case the BAP and the POC.

BAP president Joey Lina scored the POC’s hard stance on the cage body.

"They didn’t even give us time. I did my best. I almost went down on my knees to appeal to the POC but they didn’t heed my appeal and it’s the country that has suffered," said Lina, who attended the FIBA-Asia Executive Board in Kuala Lumpur, site of the SEABA tilt.

A BAP-formed team with Boysie Zamar as coach was already in Malaysia yesterday, ready for battle.

"The CAS will determine truth that it was the POC itself which initiated the move to remove the BAP from its membership. This is very much a no-no in the spirit of Olympism. The POC’s role is to mediate and arbitrate when there are disputes and conflicts. Lahat naman nadadaan sa magandang usapan, but they did not listen to us," said BAP vice-president Christian Tan.

The major stakeholders of basketball and sports officials in the country expressed sadness over the FIBA decision although national team coach Chot Reyes and POC chair Robert Aventajado took it on a positive note and looked beyond 2005 or 2006.

"The PBA is saddened by the news that the Philippines has been banned from playing in the SEABA tournament by FIBA-Asia and is extremely concerned that all of our efforts to regain our standing in basketball in our region might go for naught," said PBA commissioner Eala even as he urged the POC and the BAP to immediately settle the dispute with the interest of RP basketball as the primordial consideration.

He added: "The PBA stands firmly on the side of unity in basketball. We ask all concerned to consider not only the huge resources already spent by the PBA in ensuring that the PBA honors its commitment to support our objectives but also the sacrifices of all our teams, coaches and players."

Reyes, saddled with the now aborted RP team trip to the FIBA-Asia men’s championship in Doha, Qatar in September, remains hopeful things will be back to normal before or around 2007.

"We would like to remind everyone that this team and the program was built for the 2007 FIBA-Asia which is the qualifier for the 2008 Olympics," said Reyes, who heard the news early yesterday morning during practice.

He is scheduled to meet with Eala and San Miguel Corp. CEO Ramon Ang, the RP team manager, today or tomorrow."

For his part, Aventajado noted that the FIBA verdict is a display of a sense of fairness.

"The FIBA merely adhered to the fundamental rules in conflict management and the POC must abide by this if only to show that the action against the BAP by our general assembly is sound and in accordance with the provisions of our charter," Aventajado pointed out. "The POC is saddened by this but we must swallow the bitter pill for now if we want to truly reform our basketball programs."

Aventajado added that the POC also understand the FIBA for declining the POC request to send a national team for the SEABA as this would violate the rule of the international federation that restricts the IF dealings only with duly recognized basketball associations.

This is not actually the first time the Philippines was barred from hosting or seeing action in an international tournament. The first reportedly came during the 1964 World Championship and the last in 2001 for both the SEABA event and the FIBA Men’s (formerly known as the ABC).