SBP & Legitimacy
Bleacher Talk
May 18, 2008
SBP & Legitimacy
Basketball fans may not realize it, but quietly taking place in the basketball scene these days is the most crucial part of the ongoing move to unite and establish a genuine national sports association (NSA) for basketball.
The BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) has just announced that 19 basketball associations (out of 111) from around the country have been screened and deemed fit to serve as active members of basketball’s mother organization. As active members, these organizations will have voting rights, i.e., a say on the manner with which the sport will be managed from now on. We have always believed that the NSA must be ran and managed by real basketball people, and it sure looks like we’re finally getting there. After a tedious screening process, the likes of the PBA, PBL, UAAP, NCAA, CESAFI and others are recognized as organizations which passed the criteria for one to become an active member of the BAP-SBP.
The criteria and guidelines were clear and stringent, with the goal of recognizing only legitimate and true-blue basketball associations. Among the criteria set for this was that these should be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with appropriate by-laws and articles of incorporation. This should also have tournaments for at least two consecutive years over the past four years, with each tournament lasting for three months with at least six member teams participating. These are only the basic requirements required of members. There’s a laundry list of many more requirements, all of which are needed to confirm whether or not an association is genuine.
At the local level, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) and the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA) were admitted as active members. Both leagues are college-based, and have common member-teams in UV, USC and SWU. The difference between the two is that the CESAFI is run by the member schools while the VAAA is a project of BAP-SBP Regional Head Yayoy Alcoseba. The youth sector of Cebu is also represented in a way, as part of the Small Basketeers Philippines Inc., the mother organization behind the Milo Best basketball tournament. Cebu’s commercial sector is recognized as it’s part of Pinoy Basketbol Inc., the mother company of Liga Pilipinas, the merger league of the National Basketball Conference (NBC) and the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA), also of Yayoy Alcoseba.
So far, so good. A look at the 19 active members of the BAP-SBP will lead one to conclude that they’re all legit. I can’t speak for some of these leagues with which I’m not too familiar, but I don’t see any credibility problems in the screening committee led by Ely Capacio.
One of the biggest cries of protest is expected to come from the faction of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP). It looks like many of the BAP’s member leagues weren’t accepted as active members of the BAP-SBP for failing to meet many of the requirements needed of an active member. Latest reports have indicated that the BAP was expected to hold its own assembly and elections yesterday in a move that will go directly against the setting up of the BAP-SBP’s board of trustees on June 12. Leading the charge of the BAP are former Congressmen Luis Villafuerte, Butch Pichay and BAP Secretary-General Graham Lim. Now this is getting really interesting, isn’t it?
In the past, the biggest complaint against the previous BAP management was that it was run by people who didn’t represent legitimate basketball organizations. It now looks like everything’s backfiring on them. The interesting thing to look out for is how the BAP will operate on its own. What tournaments will it hold? What leagues are behind them? Will it be able to draw the big names of the basketball world? Will it compete with the likes of the PBA, PBL, and the UAAP? On the local front, what league will it put up against the CESAFI, VAAA and Liga Pilipinas?
Although the BAP move smacks of disunity, I think it’s good that they go out and move on their own. This way, the basketball fan will be given the opportunity to evaluate which group is working truly for the interests of the sport. More activities will also mean more basketball for the fans. In the end, the fan himself will decide which group deserves to be running the show for the BAP-SBP.
The FIBA has already made an official statement that it will recognize the BAP-SBP, and I’m pretty sure that the Philippine Olympic Committee will do the same. But let’s see what happens when both parties plot out and hold each its own set of activities.
In the end, we’ll eventually see that the BAP-SBP will have the numbers and legitimacy in terms of basketball people and organizations. If all this mess is the price that we’ll have to pay to finally establish a real NSA for basketball, so be it.
Let’s move on. Be pure. Be true. Be legit.
***
Time-out: Best wishes to the newly-weds Mark Anthony and Loraine Yap who tied the knot today. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
May 18, 2008
SBP & Legitimacy
Basketball fans may not realize it, but quietly taking place in the basketball scene these days is the most crucial part of the ongoing move to unite and establish a genuine national sports association (NSA) for basketball.
The BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) has just announced that 19 basketball associations (out of 111) from around the country have been screened and deemed fit to serve as active members of basketball’s mother organization. As active members, these organizations will have voting rights, i.e., a say on the manner with which the sport will be managed from now on. We have always believed that the NSA must be ran and managed by real basketball people, and it sure looks like we’re finally getting there. After a tedious screening process, the likes of the PBA, PBL, UAAP, NCAA, CESAFI and others are recognized as organizations which passed the criteria for one to become an active member of the BAP-SBP.
The criteria and guidelines were clear and stringent, with the goal of recognizing only legitimate and true-blue basketball associations. Among the criteria set for this was that these should be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with appropriate by-laws and articles of incorporation. This should also have tournaments for at least two consecutive years over the past four years, with each tournament lasting for three months with at least six member teams participating. These are only the basic requirements required of members. There’s a laundry list of many more requirements, all of which are needed to confirm whether or not an association is genuine.
At the local level, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) and the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA) were admitted as active members. Both leagues are college-based, and have common member-teams in UV, USC and SWU. The difference between the two is that the CESAFI is run by the member schools while the VAAA is a project of BAP-SBP Regional Head Yayoy Alcoseba. The youth sector of Cebu is also represented in a way, as part of the Small Basketeers Philippines Inc., the mother organization behind the Milo Best basketball tournament. Cebu’s commercial sector is recognized as it’s part of Pinoy Basketbol Inc., the mother company of Liga Pilipinas, the merger league of the National Basketball Conference (NBC) and the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA), also of Yayoy Alcoseba.
So far, so good. A look at the 19 active members of the BAP-SBP will lead one to conclude that they’re all legit. I can’t speak for some of these leagues with which I’m not too familiar, but I don’t see any credibility problems in the screening committee led by Ely Capacio.
One of the biggest cries of protest is expected to come from the faction of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP). It looks like many of the BAP’s member leagues weren’t accepted as active members of the BAP-SBP for failing to meet many of the requirements needed of an active member. Latest reports have indicated that the BAP was expected to hold its own assembly and elections yesterday in a move that will go directly against the setting up of the BAP-SBP’s board of trustees on June 12. Leading the charge of the BAP are former Congressmen Luis Villafuerte, Butch Pichay and BAP Secretary-General Graham Lim. Now this is getting really interesting, isn’t it?
In the past, the biggest complaint against the previous BAP management was that it was run by people who didn’t represent legitimate basketball organizations. It now looks like everything’s backfiring on them. The interesting thing to look out for is how the BAP will operate on its own. What tournaments will it hold? What leagues are behind them? Will it be able to draw the big names of the basketball world? Will it compete with the likes of the PBA, PBL, and the UAAP? On the local front, what league will it put up against the CESAFI, VAAA and Liga Pilipinas?
Although the BAP move smacks of disunity, I think it’s good that they go out and move on their own. This way, the basketball fan will be given the opportunity to evaluate which group is working truly for the interests of the sport. More activities will also mean more basketball for the fans. In the end, the fan himself will decide which group deserves to be running the show for the BAP-SBP.
The FIBA has already made an official statement that it will recognize the BAP-SBP, and I’m pretty sure that the Philippine Olympic Committee will do the same. But let’s see what happens when both parties plot out and hold each its own set of activities.
In the end, we’ll eventually see that the BAP-SBP will have the numbers and legitimacy in terms of basketball people and organizations. If all this mess is the price that we’ll have to pay to finally establish a real NSA for basketball, so be it.
Let’s move on. Be pure. Be true. Be legit.
***
Time-out: Best wishes to the newly-weds Mark Anthony and Loraine Yap who tied the knot today. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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