Thursday, June 21, 2007 Cesafi nod needed before members can join BAP meet
AFTER weeks of being put under fire, the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) regional chapter finally embarks on its first local tournament— the BAP Danao City Mayor’s Cup on June 29 at the Danao Civic Center.
The tournament, however, encountered a minor hitch after participants who are members of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc (Cesafi) still need permission from their mother organization before they can join the meet.
Cesafi members University of Cebu (UC), Southwestern University (SWU), Don Bosco College, University of San Jose Recoletos and University of San Carlos, Cebu Institute of Technology, who are bent on joining the meet, still need to get the approval of the Cesafi board.
The restriction is there because the tournament is organized by BAP, a rival organization of BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), which counts Cesafi as one of their stakeholders.
“We could not decide until the Cesafi board approves,” said UC basketball head Atty. Baldomero Estenzo.
For his part SWU athletic director Ryan Aznar felt the program of Sy is commendable, but they still need to wait for the final decision of Cesafi.
“As a sportsman, what Sy is doing is good for the entire basketball community and especially to our players as it will give them added exposure. But being a member of the Cesafi, we belong to an association, to which we answer to. So we will just wait,” said Aznar.
BAP regional head Lorenzo “Chao” Sy, however, is already one step ahead.
“I already sent a letter to the new president of Cesafi, Dr. Alicia Cabatingan, to ask her permission because this is the most polite way to do so. I asked her to allow these schools to join in the spirit of sportsmanship,” Sy said.
This tournament is the realization of Sy’s plan to hold an intercollegiate basketball tournament.
Sy, who is also being eyed to hold a post with BAP-SBP said all he wants is to break all affiliation boundaries and have a competition that would gather all schools that will battle for basketball supremacy.
Completing the list of teams are Asian College of Technology and Salazar Institute of Tehcnology.
Teams are supposed to play in a single-round robin in their respective brackets with the top two teams advancing to the crossover semifinals. (MCB)
