MANILA, Philippines—First hour in the morning Wednesday, I was already chatting with PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad, who was in Baguio City with his family to escape the torrid summer heat.
I had so many questions to ask before I could compose Thursday’s column that I had to catch the commissioner even before he got out of bed for his various activities.
To start with, I was curious why the PBL turned down the SBP’s offer for the league to represent the country in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup which will be held in Kuwait May 8 to 16.
Actually I had asked Mikee Romero the same question earlier after he had agreed to finance the team that will participate in the 30th William Jones Cup which will be held in Taipei this July.
I asked him why he had chosen the Jones Cup over the Champions Cup when the latter was more prestigious.
“Why not undertake both?” I asked.
Mikee said the PBL as a collegial body had turned down the stint in the Champions Cup which is largely participated in by teams from the Middle East.
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“It’s too close for comfort. We don’t have enough time to prepare for this tournament, which will be staged in about a month. That’s the reason we turned it down. While the level of competition may be the same, more or less, at least we have more than three months to prepare for the Jones Cup,” Chino explained.
Before the crack of dawn Wednesday morning, I received a text message from one of the scribes, who was flying to Jakarta, Indonesia with the Harbour Centre team. The scribe, who was texting from the airport, informed me that one of the Harbour Centre imports surnamed Le Blanc was unable to join the group because there was something wrong with his passport.
I asked Chino if he knew the first name of this import and his background.
Chino expressed surprise that Le Blanc made it as far as the airport. From what he knew, he said the import had been rejected by Harbour Centre because he was so lazy.
Chino said Le Blanc was a protégé of player agent Danny Espiritu. He had flown in on his own from Texas to try his luck in the PBA. No, he didn’t know the import’s first name and wasn’t interested to know it.
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As Danny Espiritu and I spoke on the phone Wednesday morning, Michael Le Blanc was aboard the PAL flight that was taking the Harbour Centre team to Jakarta.
“He made it, surmounting major obstacles,” Danny happily announced.
“On the eve of their departure, Harbour Centre team manager Erick Arejola found out that his Philippine visa had expired. Certain strings had to be pulled very early in the morning (the flight was at 7 a.m.), but Erick managed to have Le Blanc’s visa extended. However, at the check-in counter they found out that his passport was due to expire in less than three months. The PAL people would not allow him to board the plane. Ten minutes before departure, Erick promised the PAL crew that Le Blanc would immediately touch base with the American Embassy as soon as he landed in Jakarta, to ask for a temporary extension on the validity of his passport. They finally allowed him to board.”
Yes, Danny admitted the 6-foot-7 Le Blanc was lazy on defense and very seńorito off the court. No team in the PBA would take him.
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My next question to Chino had something to do with an e-mail I received from William Fong, a stock market guru who owns the CKP 168 basketball team that plays in several small leagues.
William is interested in forming a team for the Champions Cup in Kuwait, but according to him, he will need reinforcements from the PBL. Will Chino and the board lend their players?
After recently losing the Mayor Alfredo Lim Cup title to 5th Avenue, despite a powerhouse lineup that includes PBL standouts and ex-pros, CKP has decided to revamp the team to include Jason Castro, Beau Belga and Eric de la Cuesta.
So far, CKP has won two straight games in the MBL. My question to Chino: Is William’s proposal for a tie-up feasible?
