Panlilio opens FIBA discussions on eligibility

MANILA, Philippines — The door has been opened by SBP president Al Panlilio to discuss eligibility issues with FIBA regarding dual citizens showing heritage to play for the national team in competitions like the World Cup and club tournaments like the FIBA Champions Cup.  But even as the SBP continues to argue the case in behalf of Fil-foreigners who have the Constitutional right to represent the country as national athletes regardless of when they were issued passports, it appears the process will take time because of global implications.

At the recent FIBA World Summit in Xi’an, China, Panlilio took up the case of Meralco in this year’s FIBA Asia Champions Cup where Bolts mainstays Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge were disqualified. The Champions Cup allows a limit of two imports regardless of whether they are naturalized. Panlilio spoke to FIBA administrator and development director Zoran Radovic of Serbia and FIBA executive director for Oceania and Southeast Asia David Crocker of New Zealand on the eligibility issues.

“I wanted to bring up eligibility in the panel (discussion) but during our briefing, they suggested we focus on development,” said Panlilio. “We had side discussions on the Philippine case of eligibility with David. Atty. Aga (Francisco) also pushes discussions with the FIBA Legal Commission (of which he is a member) separately. We are using various avenues to build our case. Zoran understood my concerns on the club championships and supported our position but will have to find a good compromise.”

Radovic assured Panlilio that FIBA will act on his request to revisit the FIBA Champions Cup eligibility rule. It was FIBA Asia executive director Hagop Khajirian of Lebanon who disallowed Newsome and Hodge to play for Meralco despite showing roots that they are bonafide club members with Philippine passports.

“Moving forward, Zoran mentioned that eligibility rules of the FIBA Champions Cup will be different from national team requirements,” said Panlilio. “It’s truly a welcome development for our country. The SBP’s goal is to send the best team to whatever FIBA competition. I also requested FIBA to come up with a calendar so we can request the PBA to align our calendar with FIBA tournaments. We want to have a chance to win everything. This is the simple guidance in our federation.”

In the panel discussion where Panlilio spoke with Russian federation president Andrei Kirilenko and Finnish federation president Antti Zitting on stage at the Summit, he touched on the values that can be learned from the game for application in business and building a strong federation. SBP special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio said Panlilio’s discourse elicited a lot of positive feedback.

Panlilio said in the Philippines, basketball isn’t only a sport but also a religion. “It’s the only sport that most Filipinos follow,” he said. “Basketball brings our country together. When Gilas plays, it’s like watching Manny Pacquiao fight. There is no traffic, no crime in the streets, everybody is watching TV. Basketball is definitely the No. 1 sport in our country but there are challenges and our objective is to improve every facet of the sport. Our focus is not just on 5-on-5. The federation is also looking at 3x3. We are developing a strong program in women’s basketball. Our youth development has seen great strides as evidenced by our inclusion in the U19 World Cup next year. But we must be consistent. Focus is also in the continued development of our coaches. The SBP has been going around the country to push our ‘Coaching the Coaches’ program. And last but not least, we are also strengthening our referees academy. All these are to ensure that the road map of basketball in the Philippines continues to expand and grow.”

Gregorio said the audience was amazed at the popularity of basketball in the Philippines. “They plan to adopt our best practices to improve the engagement of basketball in their countries and are looking forward towards the 2023 World Cup which we will host with Indonesia and Japan,” said Gregorio. “During the coffee break, Mr. Kirilenko approached Mr. Panlilio and asked if he could visit the Philippines and check out our famous beaches. Mr. Panlilio welcomed him with open arms.” Kirilenko, 37, played for Utah, Minnesota and Brooklyn in 13 NBA seasons and was on the Russian national team that took the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He is known as AK-47 because of the number he wore on his jersey and his Russian hometown of Izhevsk where the rifle was created.