PBA stint hinges on SEABA title

It’s not a sure thing that the PBA selection being assembled by coach Yeng Guiao will represent the country in the FIBA-Asia Championships in Yangzhou, China, in August next year.

SBP executive director Noli Eala said yesterday to play in Yangzhou, the Philippines must win the SEABA title in the sub-zone qualifying tournament in May. No site has been determined for the SEABA event but Eala confirmed Manila will bid to host.

The tricky part is Guiao’s PBA selection won’t be able to participate in the SEABA qualifier because the pro season will still be ongoing. It is the national team, with Serbian Rajko Toroman as coaching consultant, that will play in the SEABA qualifier.

Only one slot is allocated for SEABA in the FIBA-Asia conclave where the top three finishers book tickets to the World Championships in Turkey in 2010. That means only the SEABA champion will advance to Yangzhou.

If Toroman’s squad fails to bag the SEABA crown, the Philippines – and the PBA – will not play in the FIBA-Asia Championships.

Eala said the FIBA-Asia tournament was originally scheduled in September but will be advanced to Aug. 9-18 to finish before the start of Ramadan on Aug. 20 in deference to the West Asian or Middle East countries.

Eala said he is awaiting details of the SEABA competition from FIBA-Asia secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock of Malaysia before making a recommendation to the SBP Board on the possibility of hosting the event.

“We are interested to bid for the 2011 FIBA-Asia Championships which will determine the Asian qualifier for the 2012 London Olympics,” said Eala. “FIBA has advised us to host other tournaments before making a bid for the 2011 Championships to establish our capability. So we hope to be able to host the SEABA Championships as a start.”

Eala said Toroman, who was recently signed to a three-year contract by SBP, will begin tryouts for the national team, tentatively on Monday at the Moro Lorenzo Gym. At least 38 collegiate and high school players will be invited to attend the three-day camp where Toroman is expected to trim the candidates list to 15 up to 18.

Last Monday, Toroman started a week of training sessions with national team prospects Greg Slaughter, Terrell Theophile, Joey Deas, Ford Arao, Mac Baracael, Jonathan Pareno and Martin Reyes.

Theophile and Deas, who are both Fil-Ams, flew in from the US. They will suit up for the Pampanga Buddies in the coming Liga Pilipinas season. Theophile, a 6-7 forward, played at St. Gregory’s University in Oklahoma while the 5-11 Deas saw action for Rockhurst University in Kansas. Deas has a Hispanic father and a Filipina mother of the Bacus family from Cebu. Theophile’s grandfather was a war veteran from Iloilo.

“Theophile has a very accurate jumpshot and plays a lot like Carlo Sharma,” said Eala. “Coach Rajko will work on Theophile’s dribbling skills. Deas is quick, plays point guard and shoots threes. He’s like a Willie Miller with JayJay Helterbrand’s dribbling ability.”

Eala said Toroman was upbeat with Slaughter, a 6-11 center from the University of Visayas. “We’re thinking of bringing Greg to a strength and conditioning coach,” continued Eala. “Kirk Collier, Dennis Aenlle or Dan Rose would be perfect depending on who’s available. Coach Rajko wants to keep working on Greg because it’s not often you get a 6-11 player eligible for the Philippine team.”

Six players attended Toroman’s session last Monday, then eight the next day. Yesterday, the schedule was 7 to 9 p.m. with more players showing up. Assisting Toroman were Chot Reyes, Eric Altamirano, Allan Gregorio, Fritz Gaston and women’s coach Haydee Ong.