Thursday, June 14, 2007 New BAP-7 head to ‘get’ SBP appointment
NEWLY-appointed Basketball Association (BAP) Region 7 director Lorenzo “Chao” Sy may get a lifeline from an unlikely source.
This after the BAP-Samang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), the new governing body of the sport in the country, is set to tap the businessman for programs in the region.
Earlier, BAP got castigated by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) and reports in the national dailies said Fiba no longer acknowledges BAP.
Graham Lim, the former head of BAP, led Sy to believe that BAP was still recognized by Fiba, leading the sports patron to accept his position.
“I have never met Lim until he gave me that job. I accepted it for my love of basketball,” Sy said.
Despite the turn of events, Sy may get his chance to help the sport he loves.
“Patrick Gregorio (newly-appointed secretary general of BAP-SBP) told me that he will be appointing me a role at BAP-SBP. That is when he returns later this month,” said Sy.
Sy said it will not matter to him whether he will be with BAP or with BAP-SBP as long as he can hold basketball tournaments. He he has supported starting the late 70’s when he owned a team.
“I’d rather spend my money on basketball rather than spend it elsewhere or gamble. With basketball, a lot of people will have fun,” Sy said.
Gregorio, who was in Cebu last Tuesday to talk with local stakeholders, said he wants to reactivate basketball in Cebu and is willing to work with anyone to accomplish this goal. Since he is new in his job, he will need all the help he can get in order to make Cebu more active.
“I want to reach out to all Cebu basketball leaders regardless of the affiliation. One team, our dream,” he said.
“We need all the help we could get from avid basketball supporters. I still have to finalize the new BAP-SBP organizational framework though,” he said in a text message to Sun.Star. (MCB)
