PBA to fit pieces for Champions Cup

National coach Chot Reyes is wondering what kind of team can possibly represent the country in the FIBA (International Basketball Federation)-Asia Champions Cup to be held here from May 29 to June 5.

The other day, Reyes was locked in a four-hour meeting with Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala, Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) executive vice president Christian Tan, PBA technical manager Perry Martinez, PBA operations manager Rickie Santos, PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial and PBA marketing manager Jude Turcuato to figure out the jigsaw puzzle.

The problem is the PBA reinforced conference will be on stream during the Champions Cup. And under the PBA policy of "minimal disruption," there is no way Reyes can pull out national team players from their mother clubs if they’re still in contention for the conference title–unless there’s a break in the schedule.

The reinforced conference is set to start March 4. Advancing the opening to Feb. 27 isn’t a solution, the group concluded, because of the disruption factor. The way it looks, the double-round classifications will be over before the Champions Cup begins so the two outright semifinal qualifiers will have already been known.

An option is to choose one of the two semifinal qualifiers to wear the national colors in the Champions Cup. But which of the two? They could flip a coin or the No. 1 seeded team could have the right of first refusal.

Another option is for the national players from both semifinal qualifiers to form the core of the Champions Cup entry to be "reinforced" by amateurs. But the problem is the top amateurs will likely be playing in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) at the time. If PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad is informed ahead of time, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to allow his stars to play in the Champions Cup. That would be the height of fusion for the national interest.

One thing’s for sure, the PBA is committed to play in the Champions Cup as indicated in its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the BAP. The MOA stipulates that in the case of the Champions Cup, "the PBA may opt at its own discretion to send a PBA-member professional team with imports, provided, finally, that the BAP and PBA may mutually agree to allow the PBA-backed team to participate and compete in other elite international tournaments as both parties may deem fit and appropriate."

FIBA-Asia allows each team to recruit two imports in the annual Champions Cup. The Philippines has won four Champions Cup titles so far. Northern Cement broke the ice in Ipoh, Malaysia, in 1984. Swift took the second crown in Jakarta in 1988. Andok’s captured the title in Kuala Lumpur in 1993. Hapee Toothpaste, reinforced by Tony Harris and Ma Jian, bagged the plum in 1996 when Manila hosted the tournament for the first time. The Philippines skipped the Champions Cup in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Eight countries were represented in the Champions Cup that Manila hosted in 1996. They were the Philippines, China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan and South Korea.

Last year, the Philippines was represented by National Basketball League champion Mediatrix Telecoms in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Nelson Kallos of the Philippine School of Business Administration coached the team whose mainstays included Ricky Ricafuente, Jonathan Tarronas and Stephen Mopera.

Mediatrix was the only importless and winless entry in the 15th staging of the competition and wound up last among 10 clubs. Sagesse of Lebanon took the crown. The other teams were, in order of finish, Al Wehda of Syria, Al Rayyan of Qatar, Sangwu of South Korea, An Nahi Sharjah of UAE, Al Manama of Bahrain, Petronas of Malaysia, Young Cagers of India, Al Kuwait and Mediatrix. Curiously, China and Japan did not participate.

The Philippines also finished last in 1999 when the Pasig Pirates of the Metropolitan Basketball Association represented the country. It’s been downhill for the Philippines in the Champions Cup since Manila hosted in 1996.

Eala said forming the national team will be a step-by-step process. The first step is to assemble a pool of about 40 candidates. Then the list will be reduced to 25, later 18 and finally, 12. Reyes will include crack amateurs in the 40-man pool for "developmental" purposes since his program has a four-year perspective with the ultimate objective of qualifying the national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Postscript: Notwithstanding the appointment of William (Butch) Ramirez to take over the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as officer-in-charge in lieu of Eric Buhain, former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Col. Julian Malonso said he is still batting for the PSC chairman and the POC president to be one and the same person. "It is the opportune time to solve the perennial conflict of interest between the PSC and POC by appointing the acclaimed president of the POC concurrently chairman of the PSC," said Malonso. "This will solve the problem of conflicting interests of both parties. In the defunct Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF), the forerunner of the PSC, the president of the PAAF and the POC was the same person"... It’s a brand-new year and what better way is there to start the new year than by getting the freshest first 2005 issues of your favorite magazines. Emerald Headway, the leading distributor of foreign magazines, has over 700 titles for you to choose from including regular favorites such as NBA Inside Stuff, Motor Trend, Tips & Tricks’ Cookbook, Men’s Health (US), National Geographic Traveller, PC Magazine, Metropolitan Home, Stereo Review: Sound & Vision, Shuz and Elle Décor (US). As a new year treat, we’ve extended our Subscription Celebration promo until Jan. 15. Subscribe now to get a 12 percent discount for 1-year subscriptions, 6 percent discount for 6-month subscriptions and two free back issues of your choice. For details, call 647-4744 or visit the Emerald showroom at 218 Katipunan Ave., Blue Ridge, Quezon City.