SMC’s Eala says PBA should delay 3rd conference for FIBA Asia

MANILA, Philippines – Former PBA commissioner and now head of San Miguel Corp.’s sports operations Nolie Eala said the PBA should postpone the third conference to give Smart Gilas more time to prepare for the 2013 FIBA Asia Qualifiers in August.

In a post he made on his Twitter account, Eala said this is SMC’s stance on the issue.

“Fate of 3rd conf still up in the air. SMC position is to postpone it til after Fiba Asia in order to give Gilas ample time to prepare,“ Eala tweeted.

“If the PBA will act quickly, 2nd conf sched can still be changed. No need to rush the sched. And Fans are given what they want,” he added.

Current PBA commissioner Chito Salud has mandated PBA teams to loan at least one player each to help Smart Gilas in their bid for a ticket to the 2014 FIBA World Basketball Cup to be held in Spain.

The Philippines is hosting the FIBA Asia qualifiers from Aug. 1-12.

Eala has also mentioned the availability of likely candidates from SMC teams for the national squad.

“Junmar (Fajardo), LA (Tenorio) and Ping (Pingris) are also available to Gilas if they want them. Wish Gilas all the best,” Eala also tweeted.

SMC owns Ginebra, Petron and B-Meg in the PBA while Smart Gilas is bankrolled by SMC’s PBA rival PLDT Group, which is headed by businessman Manny V. Pangilinan.

The nationals just came off a championship in a Hong Kong invitational tournament, where the fielded a team composed of a cadet pool and some PBA players.