WITH the national governing body for basketball, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), busy with huge basketball affairs in the capital, its breakaway group, the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), continues to make its presence felt in the provinces.
Having been replaced by the SBP as the organization recognized by the international governing body Fiba, BAP has continued its promise to help provincial teams get international exposure.
And to make true to its promise, BAP is sending a team to the 9th Gen. Zheng Chenggong Cup Men’s Open Basketball International tournament in China in October.
Philippines will join other teams from neighboring Asian countries that includes South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong in the annual tournament held in honor of Chenggong (Koxingga), a military hero from Nan’an City during the late Ming and Qing Dynasty.
Philippines has been participating in this tournament and has won four titles.
BAP, and its school-based organization the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (Fessap), has been sending and inviting foreign teams to tournaments, here and abroad.
Last December, Cebu City hosted the five-day, three-sports tournament—the Asia-Pacific University Games (Apug) with the Nippon Sports Science University of Japan winning the basketball competition, the Universiti Teknologi Mara of Malaysia winning the badminton competition and the University of Cebu winning the table tennis competition.
It was also through Fessap and BAP that the University of Cebu Webmasters and the University of the Visayas Green Lancers were able to compete in the World University Games in Shenzhen, China (2011) and Kazan, Russia (2013) respectively.
Aside from the basketball teams, Fessap also gave UC table tennis players the chance to represent the Philippines to the biennial University Games.
The composition of the Philippine squad to the Chenggong Cup will be known in the coming days.