MANILA, Philippines—With the upcoming FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in China next year, Vancouver-based Pinoy expat Jose Flores wanted to know if the SBP has plans of recruiting a naturalized player, much in the same way some of our Asian neighbors have.

“We need at least a 6-11 center ala Vogel of Lebanon to back us up,” he wrote, suggesting that the SBP start looking around for tall talents as soon as possible or conduct camps to identify them.

“Also, it would be interesting if the SBP can have training centers in the United States and Canada so we can develop Pinoys or anyone with Pinoy blood ourselves. This way we won’t need agents to peddle these talents to us,” Flores said.

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Speaking of the SBP, it came as a big consolation to former executive director Pato Gregorio that the Philippines won over Iran in the Fiba-Asia youth championship still ongoing in Iran. Even if it was a no-bearing game.

The local youth development program was a brainchild of Pato backed by Tao Corporation.

Pato noted that Iran is the defending champion of the event and winning against the squad showed that, if not for bad breaks, Franz Pumaren’s boys could have remained in contention.

“Now all we need is to beat China for the chance to land in fifth place,” he said as he toasted members of the press during the PBA Press Corps Awards Night at the Bayview Hotel in Manila last Tuesday.

Pato must have been terribly disappointed to read a press statement from the Iranian coach the following day saying that, since it was a no-bearing game, he had fielded in his second stringers to preserve his core for the more important games ahead. The Iranian coach stressed that he had benched his most prolific cager.

Pato must have been even more flabbergasted to read Saturday’s news from Iran: We lost by 23 points to the towering Chinese in the consolation round and blew our chance for a fifth place finish.

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As I promised boxing buff Toto Battung of Metro Manila, I listed down about five boxing experts, all of them affiliated with broadcast and print media, to find out their thoughts regarding the forthcoming Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight in Las Vegas.

“Filipinos are going crazy about this fight. Is it an even match?” Toto wanted to know. “De La Hoya has fought as a middleweight, Pacquiao as a flyweight. De La Hoya is much taller and has a longer reach. Is this fight all about money or is it a fight for the ages?”

Actually, I never got to all of the five experts in my list.

The first respondent refused to talk at first.

He said the Pacquiao rooters will be after his throat if he revealed his thoughts.

“These guys are very ferocious. They are fanatics. They cannot accept anything said against their idol. And that includes the media.” The respondent said.

I promised not to mention his name.

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“I don’t see how Pacquiao can win over De La Hoya. He is far too big and too tall, he has a longer reach, an excellent left jab and left hook and he is a good boxer like Juan Manuel Marquez with whom Manny had such a difficult time.”

I reminded my fellow columnist of De La Hoya’s sparmate Ivan “The Iron Boy” Calderon, a former world light flyweight champ who always gave the Golden Boy a very difficult time. Calderon, only 5-foot-3 and weighs l08 lbs, said De la Hoya’s antitheses are small and speedy boxers.