PBA teams 'selfish' of players for Gilas' games abroad
By Carla Patricia S. Perez
There’s a trouble brewing up in Philippine basketball.
The local and national scenes of Philippine basketball have recently been caught in a clash after some Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams refused to lend their players to national team Smart Gilas Pilipinas.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes expressed his dismay on Twitter, saying the national team could have been more ‘focused’ and could have had a ‘better’ chance, had PBA teams been more ‘generous’ in letting their cagers play for flag.
In August, Gilas escaped team USA, 76-75, and emerged champions in the William Jones Cup behind the heroics of premier point guard LA Tenorio. But the national team settled for fourth place in the FIBA Asia Cup held last month.
Tenorio has been the main man for Gilas in both tournaments, but the team almost missed his services following the dispute between his PBA crew Alaska and Reyes.
Alaska Aces team owner Wilfred Uytengsu said the team was undergoing ‘rigorous’ trainings everyday in preparation for the PBA season and cannot afford to lend its players to the national team, and reiterated that they need their players’ ‘undivided’ commitment.
The Aces displayed a lackluster finish and lost 32 games in the last PBA season, and Uytengsu said they cannot afford to ‘suffer’ the same fate again, thus, the ‘intense’ preparation.
Tenorio should have been a part of that preparation, but the former Atenean opted to play for the national squad. The decision forced Alaska to drop Tenorio from its lineup and hire the services of former Powerade stalwart JVee Casio, and continue its scheduled trainings.
After all the trading and regular draft pick, Tenorio was carded to play for the Ginebra Gin Kings, which he acknowledged and expressed ‘positive’ feelings about.
The Alaska management, through Uytengsu, congratulated its former player and wished him ‘well’ in his endeavor with his new squad. Tenorio reciprocated the kind gesture and thanked the Aces and former coaches Tim Cone and Joel Banal for ‘molding’ him and his basketball skills.
Tenorio also stressed that everything he needed to sacrifice to be able to represent the country was all ‘worth it,’ and that he will always be ‘willing’ and ‘ready’ to play for flag.
“It’s an honor for me to play for my country,” he said.
Gilas is currently in the process of completing its lineup, which will be composed of collegiate and professional players plus foreign recruits, for the FIBA Asia tournament next year and the Asian Games in 2014.
There’s a trouble brewing up in Philippine basketball.
The local and national scenes of Philippine basketball have recently been caught in a clash after some Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams refused to lend their players to national team Smart Gilas Pilipinas.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes expressed his dismay on Twitter, saying the national team could have been more ‘focused’ and could have had a ‘better’ chance, had PBA teams been more ‘generous’ in letting their cagers play for flag.
In August, Gilas escaped team USA, 76-75, and emerged champions in the William Jones Cup behind the heroics of premier point guard LA Tenorio. But the national team settled for fourth place in the FIBA Asia Cup held last month.
Tenorio has been the main man for Gilas in both tournaments, but the team almost missed his services following the dispute between his PBA crew Alaska and Reyes.
Alaska Aces team owner Wilfred Uytengsu said the team was undergoing ‘rigorous’ trainings everyday in preparation for the PBA season and cannot afford to lend its players to the national team, and reiterated that they need their players’ ‘undivided’ commitment.
The Aces displayed a lackluster finish and lost 32 games in the last PBA season, and Uytengsu said they cannot afford to ‘suffer’ the same fate again, thus, the ‘intense’ preparation.
Tenorio should have been a part of that preparation, but the former Atenean opted to play for the national squad. The decision forced Alaska to drop Tenorio from its lineup and hire the services of former Powerade stalwart JVee Casio, and continue its scheduled trainings.
After all the trading and regular draft pick, Tenorio was carded to play for the Ginebra Gin Kings, which he acknowledged and expressed ‘positive’ feelings about.
The Alaska management, through Uytengsu, congratulated its former player and wished him ‘well’ in his endeavor with his new squad. Tenorio reciprocated the kind gesture and thanked the Aces and former coaches Tim Cone and Joel Banal for ‘molding’ him and his basketball skills.
Tenorio also stressed that everything he needed to sacrifice to be able to represent the country was all ‘worth it,’ and that he will always be ‘willing’ and ‘ready’ to play for flag.
“It’s an honor for me to play for my country,” he said.
Gilas is currently in the process of completing its lineup, which will be composed of collegiate and professional players plus foreign recruits, for the FIBA Asia tournament next year and the Asian Games in 2014.