THE SAMAHANG BASKETBOL NG PILIPINAS: IS THIS UNITY FOR REAL?

The politics of Philippine basketball never ceases to amaze me. It’s the copycat of the politics that commonly hog the headlines of newspapers. We get to see basketball officials callously fight over perks and privileges instead of planning, preparing and implementing a sound basketball program that will bring us back to the map of competitiveness. No wonder these two protagonists — Pilipinas Basketball (PB) and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) — are headed, respectively, by tradpols themselves — former Tarlac Rep. Peping Cojuangco and former Laguna Gov. Joey Lina. With the kind of leadership that these politicians-turned-sportsmen have provided our athletes, it is not surprising why we are where we are now.

Considering that Manny Pangilinan (who is the acceptable, unanimous choice of both the PB and the BAP) has expressed his sincere desire and willingness to accept the Chairmanship and Presidency of the newly-formed Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) in a dual capacity, will the two groups finally put aside their personal differences and fulfill their promise to end their useless bickerings that triggered the suspension of the Philippines from participating in international basketball competitions?

Hello FIBA, are you listening?

Filipino basketball fans await your decision with bated breath.

If you have no idea what this basketball controversy is all about, here is Quinito Henson’s take on the matter.