BAP guerilla warfare

FIBA finally slammed the door on the recalcitrant Basketball Association of the Philippines, two weeks after a Central Board meeting in Shanghai. Obviously, some internal communication and alignment took place before the basketball body could bring the hammer down on the unrepentant old-timers of the old national sports association.

So what’s going to happen now?

In this writer’s opinion, in a nutshell, the BAP will still exist. Let me rephrase that, the old BAP will still choose to go on. Life is too good to do otherwise, and there are still people who believe them and benefit from them. Just ask P.T. Barnum.

Why do I say that? Simply because the unification process and the very public unity congress in February of last year did not stop them from operating in the first place. On the contrary, it actually drew attention away from the BAP and the ills that they had foisted on the basketball community. To be precise, they were a victim of a mistake in judgment of the POC, which expelled the group from the Philippine Olympic Committee improperly. Still, instead of using that as a means to clean house and create more programs that would better the sport as a sign of more change, they became defiant, and sat on their sense of entitlement.

True, at that time, the BAP finally had a full-time basketball team and were initiating other programs, but then what? How did they choose to stand their ground?

Since the unification, when both parties agreed that the BAP and PB would cease to exist upon merging, the BAP has been trying to spread its influence, like an envious brother trying to show off that it is better and more qualified than its siblings. They’ve tried beating the BAP-SBP to the punch in the provinces, recruiting and signing up their own referees and coaches, often succeeding in areas where the BAP-SBP was, in fact, slower in moving. They tried mightily to expose the flaws of the BAP-SBP (or at least, some of its officials) and were able to reap benefits in the process.

However, what they did overall was to undermine the unification process. When there was dissatisfaction with the BAP-SBP, other parties ran to the BAP, which readily provided funding and organizational support. Truth be told, BAP should not have done so and created a competitive atmosphere to benefit politicians who want a foot in the door of the POC. But then again, the BAP-SBP was unable to fill the needs of some of its constituents, who do not understand the personal proclivities of some of its new officers or the process of building a new organization.

So what happens now? BAP will still function, maybe under a different name, though I even doubt they’ll even change that. They will continue to operate, and raise funds, and organize tournaments. They will lose members who would rather be part of the legitimate NSA. Of course, many coaches, referees, organizers and schools want to be part of the recognized NSA (national sports association), more so now that it is not a “local” decision. But what will stop the BAP hardliners from running their business? What will prevent them from organizing local tournaments with second-tier schools who have already been with them even after the unification?

And nothing will stop them from joining obscure competitions and club tournaments overseas.

Graham Lim and company are going to continue to benefit from living in a democracy, until something changes in his citizenship status, which may never happen. The BAP may eventually be forced by the Philippine Sports Commission to leave its office at Rizal Memorial, but what will stop them from getting another office, and continually claiming legitimacy, or whining that they have been a victim of politicking?

Their past communications have been disrespectful of the BAP-SBP, to say the least, and have even personally attacked the association’s officers.

When has the BAP accepted the turn of events, even when they have been for the good of the sport? They’ve mastered the art of guerilla warfare, and even the long arm of FIBA cannot reach deep enough into the Philippines to stop them from operating as a business that claims to be a national sports association.

All that has changed is the label. The only thing that has changed is that now, everybody is sure that they are not the legitimate NSA. The BAP, by any other name, will keep on doing what it has always done, for its own ends, like the proverbial fly in your soup. The mere fact that they are quiet means something is brewing. And it doesn’t smell good.