Salud, Chot welcome formation of SBP selection committee

MANILA, Philippines -- PBA commissioner Chito Salud hailed on Thursday the formation of a special committee that will review the national team program, saying it’s a proof of a stronger collaborative effort between Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the pro league to consolidate the gains of Gilas Pilipinas and chart a strategic course to improve its performance.

“This process will adopt a systematic, methodical and inclusive approach to ensure that Philippine basketball becomes more competitive internationally both in the short and long term,” said Salud in reaction to the decisions made by the SBP board in a meeting Wednesday.

“The creation of a selection committee will help harness and broaden the support and resources available for SBP within the PBA community and beyond,” Salud also said. “It gives key stakeholders a channel to participate in a dynamic manner in the achievement of our goals.

The PBA chieftain insisted the Gilas Pilipinas program, which brought the Philippines back to world cage map, will be here to stay. He was present in the recent SBP board meeting.

Coach Chot Reyes issued the same statement in reaction to reports (not in The STAR) that Gilas Pilipinas has been disbanded.

“I have been assured by both SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan and executive director Sonny Barrios that the Gilas program has not been disbanded, and will continue under a regime of broader consultation with the basketball community which I support,” said Reyes.

“As to whether I will continue to be Gilas coach or not depends on the SBP board, under whose mandate I have served since being appointed head coach since 2012,” he also said.

In its first national board meeting after the FIBA World Cup and the Asian Games, the SBP formed committees to conduct a thorough review of the national team program.

The national cage federation put up search committees that will make a short list of nominees for coaches and pool members of the elite men’s team and the cadet men’s team.

Representatives from the PBA, PBA D-League and SBP make the screening committee for the men’s national team that will compete in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship which is the regional qualifier for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Meanwhile, representatives from the country’s major collegiate leagues and the SBP compose the group that will nominate candidates for the cadet team that vies for honors in the SEABA and in the SEA Games.

“MVP (SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan) is welcoming all the ideas. That’s his posture in the meeting,” said Barrios.

“The SBP is more consultative now with the other stakeholders for the federation to be more participative. The selection process for the national team is more open,” Barrios also said.