NO JONES CUP DEFENSE FOR GILAS
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 29 May 2013
MANILA (PNA) -- Preparations of Gilas-Pilipinas national team for the 27th Fiba-Asia championship the country is hosting suffered yet another big blow when organizers of the Jones Cup tournament banned the Philippines from the 2013 edition of the annual tournament set July 6-14 in Taipei.
The tournament organizers? decision will not only deny Gilas-Pilipinas to defend the crown it won for the fourth time last year, but, likewise, deprived the team of one of the vital cogs in its preparations for the Asian cage wars where the Filipinos are eyeing for at least a third place finish.
The top three finishers in the Manila edition of the Fiba-Asia advance to the World championship next year in Spain.
Safety of the Filipino players, their officials and delegation members due to the tension existing between the Philippines and Taiwan and their people brought about by the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by element of the Philippine Coast Guard inside the West Philippine Sea was the reason given for the banning of the PH team.
?It really is a big blow to our preparations,? national Coach Chot Reyes bewailed in an interview with this writer during Monday night?s practice session at the Meralco gym in Pasig City. ?The Jones Cup is an integral part of our preparedness program and losing it, indeed affects our toughening up program.?
?Hindi na matapos-tapos ang problema ng Gilas. Now we have to find another tournament in the magnitude of the Jones Cup to make up for the loss,? Reyes sighed, adding he prefers an overseas competitions, probably in Asia or Australia or New Zealand. ?Yung malapit lang para hindi tyo mahirapan.?
?Kung wala mang tournament dito sa Asia, puede na sa Australia or New Zealand (If we can?t find a tournment here in Asia, we go to Austraila or New Zealand),? Reyes said. ?Or, perhaps, we can organize a pocket tournament here among teams from two countries two or three countries.?
?Just be assured that we?ll be burning the telephone lines from tonight until such time that we can find a solution to this problem,? Reyes, coach of the 2012 squad that captured the Jones Cup diadem vowed.
Team manager Butch Antonio shared Reyes; sentiment, saying, ?kailangang-kailangan ng mga bata ang kompetisyon (Our boys need tough competition), especially against taller, heftier teams. Our planned provincial trip is only for three games against the PBA All-Star and, obviously, will not meet the competition we want.?
Antonio said the team will leave on Sunday for the training camp in Lithuania cum tuneup games against local teams there.
With barely 64 days before the Fiba-Asia tilt opened its doors among the region?s finest basketeers and three months after Reyes named the 17 candidates to the national pool, the team has yet to be officially formed amidst injuries to several hopefuls and the seeming apathy of PBA teams to lend players of substance.
Reyes, in fact, had to beg to players to attend the daily workouts that started last May 20 and give those healthy a token opposition during skirmishes. Among those who have been working out just to help and not necessarily to aspire for inclusion in the team are Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda of Petron, Beau Belga of Rain or Shine and JR Reyes of Barako Bull.
Previously injured Jimmy Alapag joined the practice sometime last week, while Talk ?N Text teammates Ranidel de Ocampo, Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier as well as LA Tenorio finally showed up to join original pool members Gary David, Jeff Chan, June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Marc Pingris, LA Tenorio. Ryan Reyes, also of Tropang Texters remained absent.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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