Women cagers bid for chance to show worth in SEA Games

MANILA, Philippines - For bringing home the silver medal the last time around in 2011, members and officials of the Philippine women’s basketball team believe they deserve to represent the country anew in the  27th Southeast Asian Games this December in Myanmar.

Team manager Cynthia Tiu, who owns the team’s principal sponsor discovery Perlas, is appealing to the Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission task force to endorse the team, which was not recommended by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the recognized national sports association for the sport.

In a letter addressed to task force head and chef de mission Col. Jeff Tamayo and an earlier statement made during Friday’s SCOOP Sa Kamayan session, Tiu said she was saddened that “our own Federation has not endorsed us even if we are in contention for the gold (medal), having won the silver in 2011.”

Tiu said the silver medal the Filipinas cornered two years ago in Indonesia could have, in fact, been a gold medal had it not been for the last-second  controversial call that favored eventual champion Thailand.

In the SCOOP session, Tiu and national coach Haydee Ong as well as several members of the team who appeared as guests, said the country’s high-ranking sports officials, particularly POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and PSC chair Richie Garcia, were present during the Phl-Thailand finale and saw how the Filipinas were denied what could have been the Philippines’ first SEA Games championship since 1977.

”The POC and the PSC have set the criteria for gold medal winners and/or potential gold medals, then why are we being left out? Tiu asked. “Do you think this is fair? Actually, appealing (the case) was far from our mind kasi alam namin na qualified kami under the criteria at kung hindi nila kami isama, bahala sila.”

“But we feel, we owe it not only to the Philippine team members but to the entire women’s basketball community to fight for all the women players who should be allowed to own up to their dreams and be given the chance to embrace them.”

Team members – co-captains Ewon Arayi and Joan Grasales, Ish Tiu and Melissa Jacob, who along with their friend, former national volleyball player Myra Balakyot who attended the SCOOP session – agreed with their team manager and coach.

 â€œNadaya tayo noong 2011, hayaan na sana nila kaming makabawi,” Arayi said in a sentiment shared by co-teammates present at the SCOOP session.

Both Tiu and Ong admitted they could not understand why the SBP failed to recommend the Filipinas’ participation.

“I approached Mr. Barrios (SBP executive director Renauld “Sonny” Barrios) one time to ask about the team’s status, but he could not give me a definite answer as to whether we are going to Myanmar or not,” Tiu said. “He just told me the SBP is relying on the POC-PSC criteria.”

“I guess the SBP has just been very busy attending to the preparations for the coming FIBA-Asia championship,” she said.

Ong told members of the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines that the nucleus of her team has been playing together the last five years under Tiu. She said their long training under Tiu explains why the Filipinas had not fallen out of the medal standing in all the tournaments they took part in.

“In fact, we gifted the Philippines its first gold medal ever in 30 years, also in 2011 when we ruled that year’s SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association) championship,” Ong said. “All Philippine women’s teams given the go signal to take part in the SEA Games since 2001 ended up at least with a bronze medal.”