POC: Ad hoc body to run Phl baseball

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has given the 11-man ad hoc committee formed by baseball stakeholders the authority to handle the affairs of the sport, including the formation of the national team to the Southeast Asian Games this November.

 POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. met with ad hoc committee officials led by chairman Ely Baradas Thursday to give his group the mandate to temporarily run Phl baseball while the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) has yet to conduct its elections.

“For the purpose of the SEA Games, the ad hoc committee will form a team before the Sept. 15 deadline (for the submission of entries) set by Indonesia,” said Baradas, who as ad hoc committee chairman was tasked to be the “caretaker” of baseball.

The POC has ordered the PABA to elect a new set of officers, this time involving all stakeholders in the country in an effort to strengthen the association and give directions to its development program.

The POC has stopped recognizing the holdover PABA board headed by long-time chief Hector Navasero.

After a series of meetings, consultations and a baseball summit, the ad hoc committee has identified the leagues, teams, schools and communities that will form the overall membership that will cast their votes on Sept. 14 at the POC office. 

Baradas was to meet with the rest of the ad hoc committee last night to discuss and formulate the selection of the Phl SEAG squad.

There’s a national team training at the moment despite the absence of allowances from the Philippine Sports Commission, but Baradas said changes are likely to be made to fortify the squad, a potential gold medalist in the SEAG.

“We’ll hold an open tryout where all interested parties, from the original members of the Phl baseball team to players from Baseball Philippines, UAAP, SCUAA and other leagues, are welcome,” said Baradas.

“There will be series of games and we’ll also look at the statistics of Baseball Philippines and various tournaments, consult the coaches and umpires to make sure we’ll have the best possible team so we can win the gold again,” he added.

Phl IX took the title the first time baseball was played at the SEAG in 2005 but placed second to host Thailand in the 2007 edition.

“I’m optimistic we can form a competitive team in time for the 2011 SEAG,” Baradas said. 

The POC, meanwhile, has named Marty Eizmendi and Martin Cojuangco as observers to look at how the PABA’s ad hoc committee will be conducting its affairs.