Crisis over; feuding officials come to terms

Now that its feuding basketball leaders have come face to face, in front of officials of the International Basketball Federation, the Philippines can look forward to the lifting of the FIBA suspension.

In a chance meeting in Bangkok over the weekend, officials of the warring Basketball Association of the Philippines and Pilipinas Basketball have finally agreed to put their act together.

Today’s Unity Congress at the Dusit Hotel in Makati, therefore, will be a mere formality that unity in Philippine basketball, among its many stakeholders, has finally been achieved.

This will lead to the formation of a new basketball federation whose structures, by-laws and set of officers should be acceptable to everyone.

What’s more important is that the suspension slapped by FIBA on the Philippines in 2005 will be lifted. Under the suspension, the Philippines missed a series of international competitions, including the 2005 Manila SEA Games and the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

"This paves the way for the official POC (Philippine Olympic Committee) and FIBA accreditations (on the new federation) and for the lifting of the suspension of the Philippines from international competitions, which could now be achieved shortly after the Unity Congress," said FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann.

The FIBA official is expected to fly in from Bangkok this morning to witness the Unity Congress, and see for himself the latest developments in the country.

"With this Unity Congress, the role of the three-man panel will have been successfully completed in accordance with the Tokyo communiqué and the merger between the BAP and PB consummated, resulting into a new national federation with new structures, by-laws and leaders," added Baumann in a press statement.

"FIBA and FIBA Asia approved the agreement (in Bangkok) and fully support the holding of the Unity Congress. FIBA and FIBA Asia therefore encourage all basketball stakeholders, in particular all members of BAP and PB to unite by attending the meeting in Manila," said Baumann.

Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Noli Eala, also the spokesman of the soon-to-be-formed Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, said BAP and PB officials met for 12 hours in Bangkok last Saturday.

Eala said Baumann arranged the meeting.

The meeting in Bangkok was actually a mere coincidence. As it turned out, the chance meeting was all they needed to clear the way for the unification they failed to achieve during the last two years.

The PBA commissioner was with the group of PLDT top man Manny V. Pangilinan, who went to Bangkok over the weekend supposedly to update FIBA people on the latest developments on the formation of the SBP.

It so happened that BAP officials Boni Alentajan and Christian Tan were also in Bangkok where the FIBA-Asia under-18 championship is ongoing.

"After much discussion and exchange of interpretations and ideas on how to fully implement the Tokyo Accord, the three-man panel reached an agreement. This means that the BAP has agreed to attend the Unity Congress," said Eala.

Alentajan and Tan officially represented the BAP in the meeting as they came with a special power of attorney signed by BAP president Go Teng Kok. Junjun Capistrano was the Pilipinas Basketball representative and MVP the neutral member.

Go skipped the Bangkok trip due to the death of his mother, but sounded very happy and satisfied about the development which came exactly a week after he assumed the BAP presidency in place of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

"I hope this is with finality. Now we can start looking forward and forget all our differences in the past," said Go, who received a briefing from Alentajan and Tan over the phone late Saturday evening.

Go said he is sticking out with his previous announcement that he would resign as BAP president as soon as the FIBA suspension is lifted.