Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas vice chairman Robbie Puno and Department of Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano are both hoping that selfishnesss will not rear its’ ugly head during the build-up to the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
This comes as the SBP calls for the full support of club teams, especially in the PBA, as the Philippines plans to field the strongest Gilas Pilipinas squad possible in the 2023 spectacle the country will host, together with Indonesia and Japan.
“Meron naman kayong legitimate reasons minsan kung bakit hirap [kayong] magpahiram ng players,” said Cayetano during the SBP-hosted FIBA 2023 celebration, Thursday afternoon at Crowne Plaza in Ortigas.
“[We know] You’ve been investing a lot, you’re paying good money, you have stockholders and shareholders to answer to, you have fans. But in 2023, maipapahiram niyo naman sana players niyo,” the former senator then asked.
“How do we expect naman yung team natin to gel as one?”
The issue of club teams not lending players to the national team has always been existent. With that, the SBP’s desires of building the best possible team in major competitions always gets stalled, leaving them to make do with what they have.
To minimize this kind of dilemma, Puno, along with his colleagues in the House of Representatives, is actually looking to create a law that will penalize club teams should they refuse to lend players for national cause.
“What we’re looking at is the possibility of doing [a law for] associations and teams who do not allow their players to join the national team,” said the former Antipolo representative.
“So that might be an approach we’re looking at.”
Now, it’s on the club teams if they will heed this call.
