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THE
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) finally made it
official that it will support the country’s quest for a
slot in the 2010 International Basketball Federation (Fiba)
World Championship in Turkey.
But the
PBA’s involvement in the qualifier for the 2012 London
Olympics, which is the main goal of BAP-Samahang
Basketball ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), has not been
discussed by the members of the board.
“We
would like to know first the experience of the national
team in 2009 and possibly 2010 before looking that far
ahead,” PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios told the
BusinessMirror Monday.
He said
the board agreed that this new endeavor would not hurt
the league financially because they will ask the BAP-SBP
to look for sponsors for the national team.
“Tutal
matagal pa naman [ang tournament] but we will
request the SBP to look for sponsors for this national
engagement,” said Barrios after the board meeting at the
league offices in Libis, Quezon City.
The PBA
has shouldered the expenses of past national teams, the
last being the 2007 squad Chot Reyes coached. The PBA
spent close to P40 million for that team.
Barrios
said the league will supply the players and select the
head coach for the 2009 Fiba World qualifier in China in
September next year.
“For
sure, the 10 PBA coaches will be my candidates for the
position. Hopefully, within October we can already name
the coach so that he’ll have at least a year to prepare
the team,” said Barrios.
The PBA
boss personally wanted Ron Jacobs to handle the team
again because of his knowledge of international
basketball, but the famed American coach has not fully
recovered from the stroke he suffered in 2001.
Barrios
said he will consult his staff and even the media on the
selection of the national head coach. He also shot down
the possibility of a PBA-backed team representing the
country in the 2010 Asian Games in China as it would run
conflict with the league’s calendar.
The
board in the same meeting approved the format for the
2008-09 season with the All-Filipino tournament ushering
the new season to be followed by an import-flavored
tournament.
The
board also gave the go signal for the revival of an
invitational tournament. Details of the invitational
tournament, however, have yet to be drawn because it has
to jibe with the national team’s preparation for the
2009 Fiba qualifier.
“Depende
kasi ’yan sa coach, baka kasi he’ll prefer to
go abroad, while we’re having the pocket tournament
[invitational],” said Barrios. “Tapos kailangan
balanse rin ang exposure ng PBA teams.”
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