[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas seeks to clarify with Fiba what it perceives as “unfair” programming ahead of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers in Manama, Bahrain.
Gilas Pilipinas was supposed to play Thailand twice and Korea once in the Manama bubble from Nov. 26-30, but issues arose when the East Asia team backed out of the window due to COVID-19 concerns.
Korea’s withdrawal, which has yet to be reflected on the Fiba website, meant that the Philippines will have a time change and that was what SBP president Al Panlilio wanted to discuss.
“We have been in talks with Fiba and we want to follow the schedule of competitions where we are supposed to play against Thailand and Korea,” Panlilio told a Zoom news conference on Thursday. “We are prepared to play two games against Thailand and (one against) Korea.”
Under the new schedule, Gilas will have to play four matches in the same number of days, with a Thailand match moving to November 27 and a fight with Indonesia scheduled for November 29 instead of the original date set. supposed to be played in February. February 18, 2021.
Panlilio said the time change puts the Philippines in an unfair situation, as the second games against Korea and Indonesia were supposed to be in February.
“That is unfair to us. We want to follow the competition schedule that we have been given and that is where we are today, ”said Panlilio.
SBP Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan said that Korea’s withdrawal from the November window must have caused the schedule change and that Fiba has yet to decide what sanctions to impose against the team.
“Korea has indicated that for their own reasons, they will not be able to participate. If the team doesn’t show up, I suppose Fiba should impose penalties, either financially or if they lose the game, ”said Pangilinan.
Although a game against Indonesia is not a big concern for Pangilinan, he stressed that the match should be a friendly only and would not be reflected in the official records of the respective teams.
“We are happy to play for Indonesia at any time, but the question is whether the failure of that game will be qualified or not. If it’s a friendly match, I have no problem, ”said Pangilinan. “But if this is a classified game, it seems like we have a big question mark, if I will say that politely.”
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
