This clarification was made by Asaphil president Harry Angping with another group within the association currently holding its own Open at the Rizal Memorial ballpark.
"It’s not the official National Open. I am not preventing them from holding this tournament but I would like to caution everyone," Angping said of the ongoing tournament being ran by Asaphil board member Filomeno "Boy" Codinera and former Asa-Phil president Mario Raymundo.
Raymundo said there are 19 teams seeing action in the current tournament featuring the Blu Boys and Blu Girls who won the gold medals in the last SEA Games. The event officially started yesterday.
Angping, a former congressman from Manila, said the tournament scheduled in Zamboanga will be hosted by Mayor Celso Lobregat. It will be used to screen potential members of the national team.
During the tournament proper, Angping said Asaphil will also elect the set of officers that will run the association until 2010. Angping became Asaphil president late in 2002.
Angping said players seeing action in the ongoing tournament at the Rizal Memorial stadium are free to join the Zamboanga event, and earn the chance to become part of future national teams.
"Most of the members of the present RP team are from Zamboanga. But everybody is welcome there. If you’re good, then you deserve to be in the national team," added Angping.
Meanwhile, Raymundo said that it is the first time in four years the National Open is being held , reviving it after his group had questioned Angping’s leadership in the Asa-Phil two years ago. — With report from Abac Cordero