‘Backdoor’ to Doha nearly shut

There’s a slim chance for the Philippines to play in the FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball)-Asia championships in Doha, Qatar, on Sept. 8-16 but it will mean displacing a qualifier in the 16-team elimination tournament for the World Championships in Saitama, Japan, next year.

Philippine Basketball Federation (PBF) president Mauricio (Moying) Martelino said yesterday the "backdoor" approach is a possibility only if a qualifier withdraws. The possibility, however, is remote, he admitted.

The Philippines lost its chance to play in Doha after it was suspended by FIBA because of the leadership crisis stemming from the Philippine Olympic Committee expulsion of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) as the country’s National Sports Association (NSA) for basketball.

The suspension prevented the Philippines from competing in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championships in Kuala Lumpur last month. The top two finishers in the SEABA joust, Malaysia and Indonesia, earned tickets to Doha.

FIBA-Asia president Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar recently announced the bracketing of next month’s tournament. South Korea, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Kuwait are in Group A. Chinese-Taipei, Iran, China and Uzbekistan are in Group B. Japan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Qatar are in Group C. India, Jordan, Lebanon and Hong Kong are in Group D.

"If one of the qualifiers withdraws, the host country has the prerogative to select a replacement from any of the five FIBA-Asia regions," explained Martelino. "The problem is there may no be withdrawals."