Gilas may give q’fying tilt a miss
THE SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas is tinkering with the idea of passing up a chance to send Gilas Pilipinas to the tough wild-card tournament that stakes the last three Olympic basketball slots.
Ricky Vargas, vice chair of SBP and basketball godfather Manny V. Pangilinan’s chief lieutenant, bared this to the INQUIRER last night while also taking a shot at the Philippine Basketball Association for making another commitment to the national team that, he said, the league might fail to back up again with action.
The SBP formed the first three reinforced Gilas Pilipinas squads that have gotten international attention for its defy-all-odds attitude.
“We don’t know the consequences [of not playing in the wild card] yet,” Vargas said. “But we are thinking of that as an option.”
Another option—if the Fiba World penalty for skipping the event is gargantuan—is for the SBP to put up a second Gilas Cadet pool and send the team to play in the qualifying event.
The wild-card tournament will be played in three countries from July 4 to 10 next year, with the groupings to be known next month.
If the Philippines decides to compete, it could see action against international powerhouses like France, Serbia and Canada.
Eighteen teams will vie for the three remaining Olympic berths.
“There’s no certainty of us getting the best players [from the PBA] and we have never been given time to prepare,” Vargas said.
Vargas was reacting to a report that the PBA is willing to make adjustments to its 41st Season, set to open on Oct. 18, to accommodate Gilas for the wild-card event.
“Thank you very much if they want to help,” Vargas said. “But at the end of the day, the Commissioner’s Office has not been able to help us. They keep saying that we have the full support [of the league] and [yet] we get just two months of practice.
“And they cannot do anything if the players don’t like to play.”
Vargas said the SBP is very appreciative of the support Gilas has been getting from the rest of this basketball-crazy country. This backing, he said, drives the cage body into taking the sport to the highest level in the future.
“It’s hard to give hope to the Filipino people that we will use PBA players, and that we can form the best team possible,” Vargas said. “What is happening is that it is us who are making it difficult for us (Filipinos) to succeed.”