Sending the Gilas Pilipinas team to the Southeast Asian Games basketball competitions is an “overkill.”
Saying a well trained team is enough to capture the SEA Games’ most important gold medal for the Filipinos, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas treasurer Dr. Ernest Jay Adalem said the country doesn’t need to score 50-point wins to prove a point.
“With all due respect to the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission), which is pushing for a full-strength team to the SEA Games, we can win games by 20, even 30, points using our B team,” Adalem told the Inquirer.
Adalem, who is chair of the National Athletics Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Naascu), even offered a selection from his league to represent the country in the December Games in Burma (Myanmar).
He said that even an Naascu selection, if allowed by the POC, will be up to the task.
Adalem also explained that the SBP may not agree to funding its participation in the SEA Games with the PSC not keen on funding team sports this time.
“SBP is also relying on Smart Sports for funding, especially now that we are hosting the Fiba-Asia,” added Adalem.
Smarts Sports supports several other sports like badminton, boxing, taekwondo, tennis, among others.
The SBP spends about P100 million a year for development, training and competitions, but the figure could double this year because of the Asian championship set at Mall of Asia Arena on Aug. 1 to 11, according to Adalem.