Friday, June 29, 2007 But will still continue to help RP basketball
SPORTS patron Lorenzo “Chao” Sy does not have the word surrender in his vocabulary.
After the cancellation of the Danao City Mayor’s Cup because of the pullout of Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) teams, Sy has more tricks up his sleeves.
Showing no signs of disappointment, Sy, currently the regional director of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), is now keeping himself busy for the National Basketball Finals (NBF), which is set at the end of the year.
This was after initial talks with BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) executive director Patrick Gregorio during the latter’s visit earlier this month.
Sy is just waiting for his appointment from BAP-SBP. Gregorio said in a separate interview that while a post is already prepared, it is still pending as he is still waiting for the BAP-SBP board to approve the organizational framework of the association.
“We have talked with Gregorio and we came up with this idea. This year would serve as the dry run and it will be full blown next year. I will start preparing but will be sending out invites when I get my official appointment,” Sy said in yesterday’s Scoop forum where he was joined by some members of the Iligan team competing in the MVBA.
The tournament is patterned after the NCAA March Madness Tournament of the US, where teams battle for survival. It will adopt a knockout system and the team that endures the ordeal will take the title.
For this tournament, teams from all over the country will compete in at least 30 different tournaments sanctioned by BAP-SBP. Their finishes will earn them corresponding points and these points will be tallied before the NBF starts. The points will be will then be used to determine the seedings.
Supposedly, the Danao contest, had it not been cancelled, would have been the first of a series of tournaments, that stakes points for the NBF.
After his ugly brush with Cesafi, Sy said he will be inviting teams from other municipalities of Cebu and of other provinces for his pilot project, although Cesafi teams are still welcome. (MCB)
