Jinggoy to take over as BAP head?

The Basketball Association of the Philippines board of directors convenes today to vote for the position vacated by Joey Lina, who resigned as BAP president the other day in a development that could well impact on Philippine basketball amid fast-breaking events the last few days.

High on the list of candidates for the top BAP post are Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Richard Gordon, according to sources with former BAP president Lito Puyat, Tanduay’s Wilson Young and Air21 Express president Lito Alvarez, who is also the BAP‘s deputy secretary-general.

There were late reports that Estrada, whose passion for the sport had led him to form a team in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), has agreed to head the 70-year old body.

The meeting is set at 12 noon at the Aloha Hotel.

Meanwhile, Lina’s failure to assert his presidency within the ranks of the BAP may have forced the former senator to resign from his post, according to Philippine Olympic Committee deputy secretary-general Mark Joseph yesterday.

"Despite his good intentions since mid-2005, he never received any cooperation from BAP’s hardliners," Joseph said.

Joseph, head of the RP swimming association, said Lina’s failure to assert his BAP position prevented him from instituting changes in their "discredited" basketball league.

"The real issue from day one has been to reform basketball," said Joseph as he tried to recall the days when the country’s top basketball leaders tried to unite for the sake of the sport.

As a result of a bitter dispute between the BAP and the POC, the Philippines was suspended by the International Basketball Federation or FIBA early last year.

The suspension prevented the Philippines to compete in major international basketball competitions, including the Southeast East Games where it was then the defending champion.

The Philippines was also prevented from seeing action in the Asian Basketball Championship, which served as a qualifying for the recent World Championship won by Spain.

Efforts to unify the sport in the country were twice put into place, but on both occasions, including this one, were halted by major disagreements that came when everything seems or seemed okay.

The Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas was recently formed with businessman Manny Pangilinan at the helm of a three-man panel that included Lina and Pilipinas Basketball president Bernie Atienza.

Lina cited an alleged agreement that was forged over the last couple of weeks — that Pangilinan would assume the chairmanship of the SBP, and Lina the presidency.

But Lina, in announcing his resignation at Manila Hotel, said the set-up did not sit well with POC president Jose Cojuangco who apparently didn’t like the idea of Lina named SBP president.

"According to Mr. Pangilinan, the POC has declared that the SBP will not be accepted by the POC if certain personalities in the BAP, including myself, are in the SBP unity ticket or common slate," Lina said.

Joseph, along with POC membership committee vice chairman Buddy Andrada, said this was not the case.

"For the record, the POC has never received any communication from the SBP, much less anything that has to do with the supposed outcome of an election," said Joseph.

For his part, Andrada said it is not the habit of the POC to single out any person, especially in times of disputes concerning Philippine sports.

"In all my 20 years as a member of the POC we have never singled out any person. Maybe ex-Senator Joey Lina thinks he is that important to the POC that he should be singled out," said Andrada, the former chief of RP tennis.

"But the truth is he (Lina) isn’t," he said. "Our membership rules are applied equally to all applicants."

One particular name in SBP’s 25-man board of trustees that was also questioned by the POC, according to insiders, was that of Graham Lim, the BAP’s secretary-general.

"I have exhausted all possible ways and means to unify RP basketball but our efforts are not enough to convince the Philippine Olympic Committee," said Lina in his resignation letter.

"This is no longer a unity ticket and the congress may not really be a unity congress without the participation of the BAP," said Lina.

"The BAP objects POC’s undue interference in SBP‘s decision to choose its officers, but since the lifting of the FIBA suspension is primordial for the sake of the country, then we subordinate our BAP and SBP prerogative to comply with POC’s desire," he said.

Cojuangco has yet to issue his own statement on Lina’s resignation.