Phl hosts Fiba Asia Champs Cup meet

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has been awarded the rights to host the 22nd Fiba Asia Champions Cup, a tournament that Pinoy cagers could use to toughen up for the Olympic-qualifying competition that follows a couple of months later.

The official notice for the hosting was relayed to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) by Fiba Asia secretary general Dato Yeoh Cho Hock via email yesterday.

This will be the first major Asia-wide competition that the Philippines will stage since the 16th edition of the Champions Cup in 2005. The SBP had also sought to host the 2011 Fiba Asia Men’s Championship – the qualifying tourney for the London Olympiad – but lost to China.

“It’s a great opportunity for the SBP to welcome our Asian neighbors to our country after a long absence and provide them a memorable championship,” SBP president Manuel Pangilinan said.

No final schedule has been set yet for the Champions Cup, considered as Fiba Asia’s premiere club tournament that allows teams to tap two imports each, although SBP executive director Noli Eala said they are eyeing a middle of May slate.

This will allow the Smart Gilas Pilipinas team to finetune their plays before plunging into the action in the Men’s Championship in September in China, where a berth to the 2012 Olympiad will be at stake.

“Gilas will be playing in the Champions Cup, hoping to use the tournament as part of its preparation for the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship,” Eala said.

Fiba Asia deputy sec-gen Hagop Khajirian will visit Manila on Jan. 19 to discuss the hosting with SBP officials and inspect the venues, hotels and other facilities.

In the 2005 edition, the Philippines held the games in three venues, the Araneta Coliseum, Cuneta Astrodome and the Ynares Center. San Miguel Beer represented Phl, placing fifth.