Basketball body calls on stakeholders to unite for Gilas for FIBA World Cup
SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio on Friday called on the country’s basketball stakeholders to come together in supporting the national men’s team with the goal of forming a competitive squad for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup next year.
Panlilio said Gilas Pilipinas’s performance in the FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta was “a disappointment as the ninth place finish was the Philippines’s worst in 13 years.”
He said lack of training time and player availability were issues that must be addressed with three FIBA World Cup Asia qualifying windows lined up for August, November and February, the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia from May 5 to 16 and the FIBA World Cup from August 25 to September 10 next year.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes had no excuses for the dismal showing but said the outcome could’ve been different if top scorer Dwight Ramos and naturalized player Ange Kouame suited up.
Reyes said the team began practice last July 6, a week before the Philippines’s first game against Lebanon, and Poy Erram, the only active Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player on the roster, attended only thrice.
“Any coach would’ve backed off from the challenge but Reyes chose to play the cards he was dealt with in keeping his commitment to the country and SBP,” Panlilio said.
“As FIBA secretary-general Andreas Zagklis mentioned, it’s been nearly 25 years since Greece hosted a world basketball event,” Panlilio said. “We really have to give it full support from all basketball stakeholders.”
“The World Cup will never happen again in Manila in our lifetime … it took 45 years to bring the World Cup back to Manila…it must be a fight, all out,” PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said. “We need the best to play and be allowed to play…we call on all stakeholders to unite for flag and country.”