Now, the hard work begins

SBP executive director Sonny Barrios said the other day despite clear signals, he couldn’t be sure if Manila would be awarded the hosting rights to the FIBA-Asia Championships until the formal letter of assignment came from secretary-general Hagop Khajirian.

“We were disappointed when the FIBA-Asia Executive Committee initially awarded the rights to Beirut in a meeting in Tokyo last September but we didn’t give up,” said Barrios. “We were told by Mr. Khajirian if for any reason Beirut wouldn’t be able to host, we would take over. We asked Mr. Khajirian if we could be informed of any switch by Nov. 30, our preferred date so there would be enough lead time to prepare for the event. We purposely didn’t want to make it appear that we set a deadline, we only suggested a preferred date.”

As it turned out, Barrios met with Khajirian during a FIBA-Asia event in Kuala Lumpur early last month and was told it appeared likely Beirut would withdraw because of peace and order issues. 

“We were very sensitive not to bring up the peace and order situation in Beirut,” said Barrios. “We didn’t want to make it appear we were badgering Mr. Khajirian. There is a lot of sensitivity when it comes to foreign relations especially since Mr. Khajirian is Lebanese. We only assured Mr. Khajirian if ever Manila would be tapped, we were ready to do a good job. We knew there were four or five other countries waiting in line to host. We were careful not to give anyone any reason to dislike us. When I got back to Manila, I exchanged several e-mails with Mr. Khajirian to get the ball rolling. We talked about marketing and TV rights. We talked about logistical arrangements. Things were falling into place but we couldn’t be too optimistic.”

On Christmas Eve, Barrios met with SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan, SBP vice chairman Ricky Vargas and Maynilad senior vice president Patrick Gregorio to discuss the status of the talks with Khajirian. Another meeting was set on New Year’s Eve, this time including former Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) secretary-general Moying Martelino, Meralco senior vice president Al Panlilio and Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes.

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“We were close to getting confirmation but we still couldn’t be sure,” said Barrios. “We didn’t want to make any premature announcements in media. We waited for Mr. Khajirian’s letter awarding Manila the hosting rights. We were told it would come any time last Jan. 9. It was the day of Game 1 of the PBA Finals. MVP was very eager to receive the news from Mr. Khajirian. At the end of the game, we all went to the coliseum lounge and I checked my laptop for emails. It was 10 p.m., our time. We all went home but I didn’t sleep. I checked my inbox every hour for news from Mr. Khajirian. Finally, at 5:45 a.m., I received a letter from Mr. Khajirian outlining the final terms and conditions of our hosting. He wanted our reply to confirm our acceptance. I texted MVP at 6:30 a.m. about it and texted his executive assistant Abet (Dungo) to confirm an appointment for a meeting. Before 9 a.m., Abet confirmed a meeting at 2 p.m. in MVP’s Meralco office. MVP texted me to prepare a draft of a reply letter to Mr. Khajirian. When we met, I submitted my draft which MVP himself edited and put his personal touch to improve the wording of our acceptance. Ricky, Al and Pato were in the meeting, too. I sent our reply to Mr. Khajirian by 3:30 p.m. and within 30 minutes, we received the confirmation of the awarding. Mr. Khajirian sent a message saying patience has bloomed.”

Barrios said throughout the negotiation process, he made sure there would be no leaks to media because FIBA-Asia is sensitive to any type of preemption in the press. “Until we received the FIBA-Asia circular, we couldn’t make an announcement to the public,” said Barrios. “And when it finally arrived, MVP texted President Aquino the good news because it’s significant that Manila will host such a major Asian sporting event. The TV rights were previously sold to Solar so we’re now talking with Mr. Peter Chanliong on the production of the telecast and where it will air. FIBA-Asia will give us a subsidy of about $335,000 but since we’re paying for the marketing rights, we will just offset the subsidy and remit the difference. We will need the support of everyone to make this a successful event.”

Barrios said with the hosting rights awarded to Manila, now the hard work begins. “This is a logistical challenge,” said Barrios. “But it’s not just about arranging to host the event with clockwork efficiency. It’s also about putting together a competitive team that will give us a chance to finish in the top three for a ticket to the FIBA World Championships in Spain next year.”

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Barrios explained that the qualification process for the FIBA World Championships after Spain will follow the World Cup of Soccer system. “Right now, the qualification system is simple, the top three teams in the FIBA-Asia qualifiers will represent Asia in the World Championships where there will be 24 entries,” he said. “But after Spain, the qualifying process will change and it may be more difficult for the Philippines to qualify so this is our best chance to make it back to the World Championships for the first time since 1978.”

Under a proposed set-up, the FIBA World Championships will be held three years after an Olympic year so as not to clash with the World Cup of Soccer schedule. There could be as many as 1,600 qualifying home-and-away games involving 160 countries over 18 to 24 months leading to the final 32 that will play in the expanded World Championships starting in 2019.

PBA commissioner Chito Salud has assured all-out support from the league’s team owners to form the best possible national team to carry the country’s colors in the August competition. It’s possible that initially, a pool of 17 will be named with the hottest candidates being Marcus Douthit, Junmar Fajardo, Sonny Thoss, Jayson Castro, L. A. Tenorio, Larry Fonacier, Gary David, Ranidel de Ocampo, Kelly Williams, Marc Pingris, Marcio Lassiter, Jared Dillinger, Gabe Norwood, Ryan Reyes, Jimmy Alapag, James Yap and Arwind Santos.