Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Cesafi plays it safe, affirms neutral stand By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AFTER figuring in a tug-of-war with the two warring factions of basketball bodies, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc (Cesafi), which used to be one of the biggest backer of the national basketball body, finally made final its stand on the raging issue.
Sort of.
“The board’s position as far as the BAP-SBP is concerned, is we are non-committal until we are clear on the leadership issue,” said Cesafi president Rolly Villa after their board meeting yesterday.
As of the moment, there are two factions claiming to be the legitimate basketball body—one that of politician Prospero Pichay, the other of businessman Manny Pangilinan.
Until now, however, it remains unclear which group holds credence. Pichay’s group registered BAP-SBP to the Securities and Exchange Commission and wave around the Bangkok Agreement to prove their legality.
Pangilinan’s group meanwhile, which was forced to use rename itself to SBP, relies on the support of Fiba, the international governing body for basketball and the Philippine Olympic Committee, which has the authority to recognize a national sports association.
Registration
Pangilinan’s group is also currently contesting Pichay’s registration of the BAP-SBP with the SEC.
Cesafi, a BAP-SBP stakeholder and a powerful influence in the south, was closely associated with the Pangilinan faction.
However, that association was eased when the Pichay group reached out and presented their side.
This prompted Cesafi to let Baldomero Estenzo, its representative to the BAP-SBP, to make an investigation. His findings were reported to the board yesterday, which they used as basis of the official stand.
Neutrality
Cesafi’s neutrality was announced earlier by commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy. However, when Cesafi supported an event hosted by Pichay in Cebu—the Asian Universities Basketball Championships. Questions rose and there were speculations that Cesafi was to jump aboard the Pichay train.
The group’s support of the AUBC led Pangilinan’s side to question Cesafi’s loyalty.
Adding fuel to the fire was when Estenzo snubbed the meeting of SBP at the Marco Polo last weekend.
“We will not commit to any group because we are not certain about the leadership yet. It is not prudent for us to take sides now and it is to the best interest of Cesafi and the member-schools that we do not meddle with all the politics,” said Villa, who is also a top official of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation.
Villa added that the Cesafi will still run its course according to its rules. It will make its decision again once the issue between the two factions, which included a case filed in court, will be resolved.
However, when asked about Cesafi’s participation in SBP-initiated national competitions like the Champions’ League, Villa said they have time to think about it.
“When the time comes, I am sure the issue will already be resolved,” he said.
