INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas protested what it termed as Fiba’s “unwarranted intrusion” following the international basketball federation’s decision to form a special commission that will mediate between SBP and the old Basketball Association of the Philippines.

“We do not understand these moves of Fiba and certainly we’ll not just sit down and wait for something to happen,” said SBP executive director Noli Eala, noting that the association has responded to Fiba with a 10-page letter.

Fiba recently formed a special panel for the Philippines composed of chair emeritus Borislav Stankovic, former president Carl Ching Men-ky and legal counsel Ken Madsen to look into BAP’s allegations that the SBP is in disarray.

“What we’re doing, I guess, is we’re fighting for our athletes and the young boys and girls who have accepted our program,” Eala said during the PSA Form Tuesday at Shakey’s UN Avenue.

“This is not an issue about who should be governing. This is about ensuring that we have a good program in place.”

The SBP ran a full-page advertisement in national broadsheets on Tuesday “condemning the disruptive actions of the BAP” and protesting against the Fiba’s “unwarranted intrusion into what must be a purely domestic matter requiring domestic resolution.”

“It saddens us ... that there are still those who continue to question the legitimacy of the SBP and its current leadership,” the ad statement said.

SBP chair Gov. Oscar V. Moreno, president Manuel V. Pangilinan, Eala and the heads of 14 major basketball stakeholders signed the open letter, which stressed that the SBP “will not submit to the jurisdiction” of the Special Commission since it has been accorded leadership by the Philippine Court of Appeals, the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Sports Commission and the Fiba itself, in a letter dated May 13, 2008.