SBP PROBES VISMIN MATCH
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is set to step in and launch an investigation on the farcical game between ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu and Siquijor in the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup last Wednesday.
SBP executive director Al Panlilio said he already asked executive director Sonny Barrios and deputy executive director Butch Antonio to look into the controversial match that saw a handful of botched passes, lazy defense and clanked shots, sparking speculations that the Heroes and the Mystics were shaving points and rigging the outcome of the game.
This is really a terrible incident.
Panlilio, also the Meralco governor in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), added that if they found out that there were some irregularities in the match, they would not hesitate to crack the whip and slap sanctions on players, coaches and even the organizers of the fledgling professional league.
“I already asked executive director Sonny Barrios and Butch Antonio to investigate what happened because that was not acceptable to any kind of sport,” Panlilio said in a radio interview Saturday morning.
“This is really a terrible incident.”
Although it is not yet clear whether the VisMin Cup is already a member of the SBP, the federation still has a jurisdiction over it since it is the governing body in basketball in the country through its affiliation with the International Basketball Federation and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Still, Panlilio would meet with the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) to discuss the matter since it is the agency that granted the VisMin Cup with a professional status.
“From the SBP’s point of view, we created a membership eligibility committee to screen the leagues who are wanting to become members,” Panlilio said.
“I don’t know if VisMin had already applied, but we have a criteria for membership. If you become a member, you are part of the voting process in the national congress and we’re very strict about our eligibility rules.”
Sideliners are puzzled at how the VisMin Cup obtained professional status from GAB.
Its professional license, in fact, was granted only last February, formally giving it the green light to operate under a bubble setup together with other professional leagues like the PBA, Chooks to Go-Pilipinas, National Basketball League and the Women’s National Basketball League.
But barely two weeks into the season, allegations of game-fixing and point-shaving already surfaced as Siquijor and Lapu-Lapu played slapstick basketball, prompting the organizers to stop the match and launch an investigation.
The league slapped the Mystics with a lifetime ban while select players and coaches of the Heroes were given lengthy suspensions and hefty fines. But Panlilio believes that it’s not yet enough. “Definitely, we need to sanction them,” Panlilio said.
“I just want to make sure that we make the right application of sanctions. I think part of this is a discussion with GAB.”