Early FIBA-Asia tourney to affect PBA sked, RP five training

The Philippine Basketball Association may need to adjust its calendar of activities in the season with the 2009 FIBA Asia championship likely to be held a month ahead of its original schedule.

The world championship regional elimination is originally slated in September but Arab teams are requesting for the resetting of the event between Aug. 1-20 since they’re observing Ramadan starting Aug. 21.

Staging of the Asian joust in August would throw off PBA’s own calendar of activities which league officials drew based on the September schedule of the event.

The 34th PBA season is ending in late June, supposedly to give coach Yeng Guiao two months to prepare the RP team vying for one of three Asian slots in the World Championship in Turkey in 2010.

“It’s sad, our schedule may be thrown off,” said PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios.

Arab teams are believed to wield strong influence in FIBA Asia which has Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar as president and Dato Yeoh Choo Hock of Malaysia as secretary general.

Many Arab teams have emerged as powers in the Asian stage, including Iran, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan. Iran will be gunning for a title repeat in the 2009 championship.

Minus these four teams, the Philippines would have less problems, only contending with China, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Japan, Chinese-Taipei and probably North Korea.

Guiao is meeting with past RP team coaches tomorrow to get their inputs on how to form the team with the best chance of qualifying for the World Championship.

Former Senator Robert Jaworski, who called the shots for the RP team that won the silver medal in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, has committed himself in the meeting.

Also invited in the meeting are coaches Norman Black, Tim Cone, Jong Uichico and Chot Reyes.

Guiao intends to name 15 to 18 players in the training pool before the year ends. - Nelson Beltran