Feihl suits up for Dragons vs Beermen

Welcoat has shored up its frontline with its acquisition of 7-foot-1 behemoth EJ Feihl, hoping to make good in the homestretch of the classification round to avoid early elimination in the Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup.

Feihl debuts with Welcoat versus San Miguel Beer at 4:35 p.m. today with the Dragons looking to end their six-game slump to stay in the hunt for a slot in the wildcard plays.

Welcoat moves out of contention should it lose to San Miguel and the ninth-running Coca-Cola overcome Purefoods in their own game at 7:20 p.m.

Meanwhile, Ginebra’s Rudy Hatfield was named the PBA Press Corps’ Accel-TnT Player of the Week for his excellent all-round game versus Alaska Milk in Lucena Saturday.

Hatfield churned out 24 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Kings to a 108-101 victory that brought the team closer to an outright semifinal seat.

The Beermen seek to stay close behind the Kings, going for a fourth straight win against the Dragons.

Meanwhile, the PBA lamented the continued Philippine basketball crisis and urged basketball leaders to resolve the impasse if the pro league were to be involved in national team’s program.   

While expressing its continued support in the formation of the national team, the PBA board has set Jan. 15 as its ultimate deadline in assessing its moves with respect to its participation in future international competitions, particularly the FIBA Asia Qualifier slated in July 2007.

"We are not waning in our support to regain the country’s lost glory in basketball particularly in this region and our chance to play in the Olympics. But the PBA cannot continue to wait for the BAP to adhere to the agreement forged in Tokyo among all the stakeholders of which I was a personal witness," said PBA commissioner Noli Eala. 

"We also have a responsibility to the PBA teams and fans to ensure that the PBA’s programs are not unduly disrupted specifically by the uncertainty of the situation," Eala added.

Eala expressed the need to know the soonest possible time whether there is a chance that the new organization governing the sport will be created which would result in the lifting of the suspension on the Philippines and thus enable our participation in several Olympic-qualifying tournaments next year.  

"The PBA, as much as possible, would like to remain as a catalyst for the unification efforts. Our only agenda here is that we want to be fully prepared should the suspension be lifted. Otherwise, it might be useless and damaging for the PBA to change our entire schedule and even our format for nothing," Eala said.

"The PBA is urging all stakeholders, particularly the BAP to remain faithful to their commitment to the Tokyo accord to expedite the immediate reinstatement of the Philippines in the FIBA roster.  Otherwise, not only do we imperil our possibly last and best chance to make the Olympics again but also irreparably damage the sport of basketball," Eala also said.