Discovery Perlas five looks a Fiba Asia tourney goner

MANILA—After skipping the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the national women’s quintet seems doomed to miss the 2010 Fiba Asia championship despite winning the qualifying Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) championship last year.

Despite a formal appeal to top Fiba Asia officials by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the PH squad, known as Discovery Perlas, needs a miracle to make it.

Sources said that Discovery Perlas is No. 4 on the Fiba Asia wait-list in case a team pulls out at the last minute.

“We continue to communicate with Fiba Asia so in case we get the approval, the team could prepare at once,” said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios, who made an assessment report before basketball stakeholders during yesterday’s SBP Congress.

Barrios explained that Fiba Asia sent a confirmation form to the SBP on March 15 and the federation confirmed its intention to join a week later on March 22 only to be told that the roster of teams had already been filled up.

The deadline for submission of confirmation was April 10.

“Apparently, we were not early enough. But we were definitely not remiss because the deadline was April 10,” said Barrios. “We were told that it was a first-come, first-serve basis.”

Barrios said the Philippines should have been included in Level 2 where Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Singapore are set to compete in the Asian cagefest scheduled Aug. 21 to 28 in Omura, Nagasaki, Japan.