SBP, MVP & the Politics of Basketball
It’s official. MVP is stepping down. Manny Pangilinan, who is also known as “MVP” in the sports world, has decided to “retire” as President of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), the national sports association for basketball. To some, this is bad news as basketball reached a number of big achievements under MVP’s watch. Who can forget the runner-up finish at the FIBA Asia Championships of 2013 which the country hosted? This was the golden ticket that got us to the FIBA World Cup in Spain where the country scored a historic win.
While the team scored a solitary win, it felt like we had won the lottery as a basketball-mad nation. Then after all the controversy behind the setting up of the Gilas Pilipinas 3.0, the team won the silver medal at the FIBA Asia last week. At the lower ranks, we must also cite the achievements of the Batang Gilas Under 16 team which also qualified for the FIBA U17 World Cup. From an organizational perspective, MVP got elected to the FIBA Central Board. Dr. George Canlas was named to be part of FIBA Medical Commission while Atty. Aga Francisco was made part of the FIBA Legal Commission, a sign of respect from the world’s basketball leaders.
But now that MVP is stepping down, many are asking what will happen next to the affairs of Philippine basketball. On the other side of the fence, there is a group of stakeholders that is excited and anxious about MVP’s retirement. This is actually the moment they have been waiting for. They are disappointed with the way MVP has managed the SBP and have reportedly united as a group to ensure that MVP will no longer control or be on top of the affairs of the SBP. According to reports, they intend to do this even before the elections that the SBP Board is calling in January 2016; that’s three months from now. Now this is really interesting. Can they oust MVP before January 2016? And if they do, will there be an election in January? On what grounds can they “oust” the SBP President? More importantly, who are they and why don’t they come out in public? They say that they are members of the 25-seat Board of Directors of the SBP. I’m not lawyer, but this is getting to smell a little fishy and shows signs of a power struggle between the MVP group and the “others.” The funny thing is that MVP has said that he will step down and won’t run for President again as he has used up the maximum of two terms that is mandated by the by-laws of the SBP. Can the others not wait for January?
While I sympathize with those who have criticized MVP, I also need to ask what they’ve done for Philippine basketball. If they are a big block of stakeholders of the sport, where are their activities and programs? Or are they already part of the ongoing basketball events such as the PBA, UAAP, NCAA, CESAFI and other collegiate, commercial or smaller leagues? But isn’t MVP also involved in the PBA, UAAP and NCAA? The more interesting thing is if the biggest stakeholders are those who want MVP out? Is this what the PBA, UAAP and NCAA want? When MVP was elected President, he was given the free hand to manage the SBP. On the politics side, the moment some sectors weren’t pleased with the way MVP ran the show, grumbling, back-stabbing and criticism became the name of the game. Thanks to social media, all these thoughts were brought out in the open and even stretched through the thousands of basketball “experts” and “analysts.” Among the accusations are the way MVP used his own men to manage the NSA and the way the PLDT group of companies got most (if not all) of the media mileage from running the affairs of the national team. I’m not sure what they want but did they also want a piece of the action? Did they also want to be recognized? Did they want to share in all the expenses of the national teams along with MVP’s companies? And also get branding rights or opportunities?
As a basketball enthusiast, I admire how the SBP got us back to the international scene, on the map and close to the powers of the FIBA.
While I do have concerns about the way they made basketball outside Metro Manila a “let go/you’re on your own” thing, I also realize that we’re better off doing things ourselves with or without the help of the SBP. Without the support of the SBP, we in Cebu have moved on and have implemented a host of basketball programs that has made Cebu a beehive of activities. The CESAFI is still the biggest basketball show in town. At the youth level, the Cebu Youth Basketball League has been thriving for eight years. Private/Manila-based initiatives like the BEST SBP Passerelle tournament and clinics, and the NBTC have also reached our shores. In lieu of a commercial league, there are various “Panalay” leagues hopping from one town to the other. Are we complaining that we don’t get any support from the SBP? No sir. We move on for the love of sports and country. We move on in service of the thousands of young basketball players who simply want to play the sport that they love. This is the best form of criticism. Just do it!
Now that MVP has retired, I pray that the sport’s new leaders outdo all the accomplishments of the SBP under MVP’s reign. It’s the only way to validate all their criticisms of the MVP management. May they walk the talk and become better managers of the sport by coming up with programs that will take the country to the next level. If MVP’s programs got us to the FIBA World Cup, bag two FIBA Asia silvers, host a FIBA Asia Championships and win a FIBA Asia U16 silver, I can’t wait for what the new leaders have in store for us. Game time.
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