Monday, June 04, 2007 Sy named BAP head for Region 7
THE Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) now has a new regional director for Central Visayas in the person of businessman and sportsman Lorenzo “Chao” Sy.
BAP secretary general Graham Lim planed in from Manila last Saturday to announce Sy’s appointment as the new BAP-7 head. The position was left vacant after multi-titled basketball coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba was elevated as vice president for the Visayas back in 2006.
Sy, who owns a chain of bakeshops and a hotel, put up the La Fortuna basketball team in the 1970’s and was also a boxing promoter in the 1980’s. He left the sports scene after leaving for the US in the 1990’s.
Just last year, he resurfaced in the basketball scene and supported various basketball tournaments and collegiate teams and also organized the Danao City Basketball Invitational, which attracted some of Cebu’s finest college teams.
Popularity
“I am used to this, I have always helped basketball. I will try to revive the popularity of basketball to the level back in our time in the 70’s when my players were still Manny Paner and Ramon Fernandez. Because when I got back from the US, I noticed that basketball is quite low now that’s why I’ll try my best to take the popularity of the game back to where it was before,” Sy told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
One of his concerns is to unify the factions and stop the infighting that caused basketball’s decline.
Intrigues
“I will try to patch up differences, and hopefully there will be no intrigues because I won’t listen to it. I’ll do it for the good of basketball,” he added.
Sy has also planned to put up a team in the Mindanao-Visayas Basketball Association to represent Bogo.
“I am very glad to find another active businessman who is willing to work for the progress of basketball. Lorenzo Sy is a very intelligent person and I could count on him to work for the development of basketball in Cebu and the entire Central Visayas,” Lim told Sun.Star Cebu.
But aside from basketball, Lim also offered Sy to help the cause of volleyball as well as the popular Muay Thai.
With the alliance of the formerly warring basketball groups following the formation of one basketball body—the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas—Lim believes that it will be easier for Sy to perform his duties.
The BAP-7 was under the care of Basketball Referee Commission (Baprecom-7) Commissioner Jose “Boy” Murillo before the appointment of Sy. (RCM)
