Friday, June 22, 2007 Arthro questions BAP-SBP meet’s stand on locals
IT WAS smooth-sailing at first but organizers of the first Talk ’N Text SBP-BAP MVBA Invitational Basketball Tournament scheduled to open this Sunday at the Cebu Coliseum may find themselves rearranging the schedule and format following the announcement of Arthro Kontra Arthritis’ new assistant team manager.
Former Cebu City Councilor Jun Gabuya, the new Arthro team assistant manager, said the team needs to do a lot of explaining to owner Jonathan Guardo after learning the tournament doesn’t offer cash prize to the winners.
Giving additional “worries” to Gabuya was when he learned the tournament will give free hotel and food allowance to the visiting teams—the Burger King Whoopers and Dazz Sang Patak of the PBL and the MisOr Holcim Pryce Pharma and Iligan Promac Archangels.
“Won’t it be too downgrading to our local players to treat them as second citizens at their own home. Why don’t we give our local players equal benefits,” Gabuya said during a press conference at Yayoy’s Grill yesterday.
However, tournament organizer and Cebu City councilor Yayoy Alcoseba said they are not treating the local players as “second class citizens.”
“It is customary for the visiting teams to be given hotel and food allowance in a local tournament. This practice has been going on including international tournaments. If we give equal benefits to our local players, the tournament budget would skyrocket,” Alcoseba said. (RCM)
