3-man panel finalizes cage body by-laws

Slowly, things are falling into place.

The new basketball association being formed to take the place of the old ones yesterday finalized its constitution and by-laws, and at the same time named PBA chairman Ricky Vargas as temporary treasurer.

And while it continues to look for a name to be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the soon-to-be-formed association has also started looking for an office it could call its own.

The group has come up with a few names, like One Basketball Philippines, Inc., but they have all been turned down by the SEC. A few more names are being considered.

Manny V. Pangilinan, Joey Lina and Bernie Atienza, who make up the panel tasked to oversee the unification process in Philippine basketball, yesterday met for five hours in Makati.

Pangilinan, Lina, Atienza and Michel Lhuillier, the BAP chairman, were listed as incorporators. The election of the full set of officers is scheduled next week.

"It (meeting) was very exhausting but it was very fruitful," said Atty. Marievic Anonuevo, who helps the panel with the legal aspects, in a statement released to the press.

The new group will hold office either in Makati or Malate, and it will be a courtesy of Pangilinan, the chairman of PLDT and Smart. As of presstime, Atienza was checking out a place in Malate.

"We’ve finalized the constitution and by-laws. We’ll register it to the SEC tomorrow (today) and we expect the SEC(certificate of) registration to come out on Friday," Anonuevo added.

"The unified organization will be a non-stock, non-profit corporation. The list of the first members of the corporation is currently being finalized by both BAP and PB based on the list submitted to the FIBA."

Vargas works for Pangilinan. Among his many roles is to represent Talk N Text, a franchise under PLDT and Smart, in the Philippine Basketball Association board of governors.

The next move of the panel, which meets anew on Friday, is to validate the list of members submitted by the Basketball Association of the Philippines, headed by Lina, and Pilipinas Basketball, under Atienza.