ON AUG. 7, the Philippines will make its final presentation for the bid to host the next Fiba World Cup, which was last staged in Spain in 2014.
According to the latest reports, a big delegation headed by SBP chair Manny V. Pangilinan will be leaving for Tokyo for the grand presentation. The delegation is hoping to impress the Fiba board, which has pruned down the choice to two candidates: The Philippines and China.
PBA chair Pato Gregorio said MVP has invited no less than the People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao to join the huge entourage composed of sports and high-ranking government officials and politicians.
Pacquiao has accepted the invitation and, if he has the time, may even extend his stay in Tokyo to attend the league’s first board meeting there under chair Robert Non of San Miguel Beer.
Since he is not the board representative of Kia Motors, Pacquiao has never attended a PBA board meeting nor sat in a meeting to get to know the governors. As everyone knows, the world boxing icon is also well-known in local basketball circles, being the player-coach of Kia, one of the three new teams in the PBA.
The PBA, of course, will also be represented in the Aug. 7 event.
Pato Gregorio, commissioner Chito Salud and media bureau chief Willie Marcial will lead the PBA retinue.
“By this time, the names in Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin’s wish list should be out,” said Willie, who expects the roster to be announced before Aug. 1.
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At the rate he has been collecting MVP trophies in the short time that he has played in the PBA, observers say San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo is bound to surpass the accomplishment of El Presidente Ramon Fernandez and The Captain Alvin Patrimonio.
Alvin and Mon have won four MVP’s each, but both played in the PBA for about two decades each or close to it.
June Mar, on the other hand, has already won two MVP’s in the three years that he has played in the PBA.
“Three years in the PBA with two MVPs. Before that, he played one season in the ABL,” San Miguel governor and now PBA chair Robert Non said.
“He’s such an immovable force, occupies so much space. He’s the ideal player to build a franchise around. He can score in the perimeter and with his back to the basket. June Mar is an intimidating presence on defense. The shortage of big guys and the international exposure he has been getting have sculpted him into an ideal MVP material,” said my favorite PBA resource person.