RP five girds for PBA wars

Joel Banal won’t be the only missing link in Talk ‘N’ Text’s coaching chain for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Asian Invitationals–called the Mabuhay Cup–starting July 27. One of Banal’s assistants Aric del Rosario is also taking a leave of absence to call the shots for the Philippine national squad that’s not only playing in the Invitationals but also in the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships in China in September and the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in December.

Banal, of course, will slide over to the Ateneo bench in quest for a second straight Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) seniors crown. Del Rosario himself is coaching the University of Santo Tomas (UST), leaving Ariel Vanguardia and Virgil Villavicencio to take care of the Phone Pals in the Invitationals.

Six PBA clubs are seeing action in the Invitationals. The first five finishers in the recent All-Filipino Cup double round eliminations gained automatic tickets to the tournament. The seeded squads are Red Bull, San Miguel Beer, FedEx, Talk ‘N’ Text, and Coca-Cola.

Still up for grabs is the sixth slot. A mini-tournament is ongoing to determine the sixth qualifier among Alaska, Sta. Lucia Realty, Shell, Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods. It’s a single-round elimination format with no provision for a playoff, meaning ties will be resolved via the quotient system.

The other Invitationals entries are the Philippine team, Jilin Tigers of China, Yonsei University of South Korea and the Yugoslavian national junior select.

Former Ateneo star Danny Francisco, speaking for national team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier, said del Rosario and assistants Dong Vergeire and Boysie Zamar are busy getting the training pool of 23 sharp for the long grind ahead.

In practice games recently, the Philippine quintet lost a pair of two-point decisions to Shell, bowed to Purefoods by 14, and took a 99-84 drubbing from San Miguel Beer.

Francisco said representations are being made to Philippine Basketball League (PBL) commissioner Chino Trinidad, PBL team owners, UAAP commissioner Joe Lipa, UAAP schools, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) commissioner Graham Lim, and NCAA schools to allow their players to suit up in the Mabuhay Cup.

A tentative 14-man roster lists Celino Cruz, Richie Melencio, Romar Menor, Dennis Madrid, Emmerson Oreta, Willy Wilson, Marc Pingris, Ricky Calimag, Nelbert Omolon, Erwin Sotto, Ismael Junio, Garry David, Berson Franco and Lot Soriano.

Missing is Ranidel de Ocampo who fractured a collarbone in the last PBL conference.

Francisco added collegiate stars James Yap, Paul Artadi, Nino Canaleta, Alwin Espiritu, Wesley Gonzales, Don Villamin, Gerard Jones, Mark Isip, Al Magpayo, Ronald Capati, and Jay Arr Estrada may be included in the lineup if they are permitted by their varsity coaches.

Playing in the Mabuhay Cup will be a big test for the national team. It will pit the players against formidable opposition and challenge them to prove they deserve to wear the country’s colors.

"We are thankful to the PBA and Commissioner (Noli) Eala for supporting the preparations of the RP-Cebuana Lhuillier national team," said Francisco.

Last month, Lhuillier inaugurated the Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier Sports Complex in Las Piñas. The 3,000 square meter facility, converted from a warehouse, has its own court, gym, training equipment, a recreational room, and living quarters. A P5.6 Million budget was provided by Ambassador Lhuillier from his personal bank account for the complex which Francisco described as "part of the vision of Cebuana Lhuillier’s all-out support for the national basketball program."The complex was built mainly for the national squad.

Francisco said the Ambassador’s son is working out the details of an athletic exchange program involving Yugoslavian universities. Lhuillier’s idea is to expose promising Filipino athletes, particularly basketball players, to the sophisticated and scientific training conditions in Yugoslavia, which has produced the likes of Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Marko Jaric and Dejan Bodiroga.

Francisco noted that Ambassador Lhuillier has also used his own money to finance the studies of nearly 60 scholars all over the Philippines. "So Ambassador Lhuillier isn’t only focused on sports," said Francisco. "As our Ambassador to Italy, he is also supporting Filipino voice and piano scholars now studying in Rome."