The Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines yesterday warned the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on its decision to tap Serbian coach Rajko Toroman as the man in charge of the RP cage program.
BCAP president Chito Narvasa said they might bring the case to court the way the BCAP did in opposing and stopping the appointment of Americans John Moran, Bill Bayno and Paul Woolpert as coaches in the PBA.
“You know we did that against Bayno, we did that against Woolpert and we did that against Moran. In all cases, eventually you know we all won so BCAP’s batting average is 100 percent,” Narvasa.
“If we’re going to talk about legality, I think we’re standing on solid ground. We are disappointed because the coaches feel like we’ve been let down,” he said.
Narvasa cited a 2004 court decision implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment barring foreigners from coaching in the country unless the local coaches can no longer perform as well as them.
Narvasa warned the SBP on its appointment of Toroman, who is currently out of the country, as project director tasked to oversee the program designed for the country’s bid to qualify in the 2012 London Olympics.
“We’re taking a wait and see attitude until we’ve been clarified where all this is going through,” said Narvasa.
The BCAP wants the program scrutinized, which unfortunately, the BAP-SBP has not made available upon signing the 53-year-old Toroman.
“We’re asking them to show us his program first since this is a Philippine endeavor. But we’re very disappointed because what happened was they signed the deal first before consulting with us,” said Narvasa.
He, however, admitted the BCAP isn’t taking any action at the moment since Toroman has yet to be named national coach. – Joey Villar