In a decision that stunned the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the Laos SEA Games Organizing Committee has rejected the plea to include basketball as part of the events in the tournament. The host country for the biennial meet pointed out three main reasons for removing basketball from the list.
First, Laos has no venue that is capable of accommodating 20,000 strong fans from 11 nations.
Nevertheless, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas offered to construct an arena around the Vientiane area within the Laos suburbs. For a visiting country to build a strategic location and offer its resources reeks of nothing but desperation. Why offer to build an arena there when our own local venues could use an upgrade of their own?
Second, Laos officials have below average technical know-how as to the way the sport is played. This means that the referees are not as trained to officiate ball games and the technical crew are a step slower in calling the shots. If Laos really wanted to find more excuses, they can just say that the water boys don’t attend to the players quickly enough. But these are nothing more than logistical problems that could have been averted with earlier planning and a keener foresight.
The third and most questionable factor why basketball will not be played from December 9-18 will be because, according to POC spokesperson Joey Romasanta, only a handful of Laotians play the sport.
This is a moot point, by all means. If ignorance is not an excuse for violation of the law, then why should it be an excuse for opting to pass up on what is considered as a major Olympic sport? Why should the Philippines not play the game they love at the expense of a host country that only has a minority playing the sport?
This is not to say that the Philippine basketball team is being stripped of what seems to be a sure gold. Not even close. The Philippine team has long been stripped of its supremacy in Asian basketball and are now on the outside looking in. What is more telling is the fact that instead of sending veteran professional players to compete, they are sending collegiate stars to the larger stage.
While the belief is that there is a long-term plan to keep the nucleus of these stars together, one may be left to wonder if a group of seasoned veterans would have done a better job in defending the title they won in Thailand in 2007.
Of course, none of that would matter anymore, at least not in 2009. But imagine the lengths that the Philippines would go through just to see the game played for keeps. The exclusion of basketball in the SEA Games can be best likened to a Filipino diet without rice. Both are staples that keep the country going.
Since Laos has removed the Philippines’ possible gold medal to its name, what then are alternative recourses? Being a rabid basketball country, the Philippines may be the only one among many to make such a fuss about the issue. On the flipside, would the POC have been as disappointed had football been the sport that was scrapped? I highly doubt it.
With no use crying over spilled milk, the Philippine delegates must now solidify their other sports programs to earn a respectable finish. It is a two-way road, after all. While pushing for their basketball program to be recognized in a hoops-aversive country such as Laos, the Philippines in turn must recognize that there are still deficiencies in other sports that need to be addressed as well.
fpua@theguidon.com
