The hottest potato

Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) president Joey Lina says the ball is in the hands of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). But the POC and the Philippine Basketball Federation (PBF) disagree, insisting it’s up to FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball).

In my opinion, the ball is in the BAP’s hands.

Clearly, nobody wants to claim responsibility for holding the ball, which is the hottest potato in town. That’s because nobody wants to be blamed for keeping the Philippines out of the basketball competitions in the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Basketball is the sport that’s closest to the Filipino’s heart and unless something positive is done to lift FIBA’s suspension of the Philippines, the home team won’t be allowed to go for gold.

FIBA banned the Philippines from competing in any of its sanctioned competitions because of the BAP’s expulsion as the country’s National Sports Association (NSA) for basketball by the POC General Assembly. Although the POC now recognizes the PBF as the new NSA for basketball, FIBA continues to recognize the BAP as its country affiliate. The irony is a FIBA country affiliate must be recognized as an NSA by its National Olympic Committee.

Ordinarily, you would expect FIBA to withdraw recognition of the BAP and recognize the PBF as its new country affiliate, following the POC’’s lead. But curiously, FIBA is holding back.

To play it safe, FIBA is sticking to its suspension order and it appears likely the ban will be lifted only when the BAP and PBF resolve their differences, meaning one must give in to the other.

POC and PBF officials are appealing to FIBA president Carl Men Ky Ching and FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann to lift the suspension and recognize the PBF, clearing the way for the Philippines to defend its SEA Games crown this year. Ching and Baumann can decide the Philippines’ fate, one way or the other, but probably because they know how volatile the situation is in Philippine basketball, they’re careful not to antagonize either side.

BAP secretary-general Graham Lim and legal counsel Boni Alentajan have issued strong statements condemning the BAP’s expulsion by the POC General Assembly. They’re accusing POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr. of acting like a dictator and ruining the national team’s hopes of playing in the SEA Games.

It’s unfair to label Cojuangco a dictator because from what I understand, due process was observed every step of the way leading to the BAP’s expulsion. The BAP had all the chances to mend fences with the POC but opted to slug it out with the General Assembly.

Now that the General Assembly has spoken, the BAP is at a point of no return.

The BAP, however, isn’t going away quietly. There are press releases about new provincial officials and new leagues being sanctioned. This has caused even more confusion because the BAP no longer enjoys the support of the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Worse, the BAP is threatening to seek mediation from the Committee on Arbitration of Sports–proving once again that Filipinos are so bull-headed that they can’t keep their house in order without outside intervention.

This quarrel wouldn’t have erupted if only the BAP kept its commitment to abide by an agreement with stakeholders whom Cojuangco summoned to a meeting that it would allow national coach Chot Reyes to name the staff and players for the Philippine team booked to participate in the recent Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championships in Kuala Lumpur. But after agreeing, the BAP turned its back on Cojuangco and formed its own team. The BAP sent a squad to Kuala Lumpur and the POC refused to sanction it as a national team. Because of the conflict, the Philippines was suspended from playing in the tournament and other FIBA-supervised competitions, including the FIBA-Asia championships in Qatar next month and the SEA Games in Manila late this year.

This is the third Philippine suspension by FIBA. It’s getting to be a bad habit. And FIBA isn’t to blame. The finger is pointed directly at Filipino sports officials who care more about personal pride than national pride.

For the FIBA to lift the country’s suspension, either the BAP or the PBF must back down. The ball isn’t in the hands of the POC or FIBA. Since the PBF is recognized as the NSA for basketball by the POC General Assembly, it has every right to be FIBA’s country affiliate. So it’s up to the BAP to swallow its pride and sacrifice for the national interest.