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THE
future of the Basketball Association of the Philippines-Samahang
Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) now lies on 19
organizations, which have been declared as official
active members of the federation.
Four
more groups have been elevated as active members by the
BAP-SBP, thus completing the roster that will nominate
who will sit in the 25-man board of trustees where the
president will be picked.
The
elections have been set on June 12, tentatively at the
Dusit Hotel.
“It’s a
good start, especially for a fresh organization,” said
BAP-SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan after the body’s
executive meeting Wednesday at the PLDT office in Makati
City.
 Nomination and membership committee (Nomemcom) chairman
Ely Capacio said the Visayas Amateur Athletic
Association, Philippine Collegiate Championship League,
Zamboanga City Sports and Arts Association and Iloilo
Basketball League have been granted active member
status, hiking the number of voting members to 19.
Under
the bylaws of the BAP-SBP, only active members have the
voting power to nominate a candidate to the board.
Fifteen
organizations were previously approved in April and
Capacio said the nomination has now been closed and
groups seeking active membership status have to wait for
May 2009 to apply.
“The
association [BAP-SBP] has a dynamic process when it
comes to the status of their membership. They can be
active members now but if they don’t comply with the
requirements, they can be removed,” said Capacio.
A total
of 111 groups applied for active-member status but only
19 were accepted, thus fueling doubts that all sectors
are well represented in the BAP-SBP.
“I’m
sure some are unhappy but later on, they will realize
who are the legitimate members of the federation,” said
Pangilinan. “We have to impose discipline here and I
hope more active members will be accepted in the
future.”
The
executive committee also approved the sectoral
representations of the organizations in the BAP-SBP
Board as recommended by the Nomemcom.
The
geographical sector will have 11 seats in the board
while the professional sector, represented by the
Philippine Basketball Association, will get four seats.
The school-based sector has five, the commercial sector
three and the special sector (women and youth) has two
seats.
The
organizations under these sectors will select their
candidates for the Board of Trustees and the deadline
for the submission of their sectoral nominees to the
Nomemcom is on May 21.
When
asked if he’s seeking a fresh term, Pangilinan did not
directly answer the question and said his priority now
is the coming Board of Trustees elections on
Independence Day.
The
executive committee set the criteria for the nominees—a
Filipino citizen, an active participant in BAP-SBP
activities and must be duly delegated or elected by the
related association.
The
elections were originally set for May 31 but the
executive committee decided to move the date to give the
sectors more time to ponder their nominees.
Also,
Pangilinan announced that executive director Patrick
Gregorio’s term with BAP-SBP has been extended to June
12 “without pay.” Gregorio tendered his resignation to
Pangilinan effective May 31 after the brouhaha in the
Southeast Asia Basketball Association Champions Cup in
Jakarta last month.
Pangilinan also did not comment on the election of
officers called by Rep. Luis Villafuerte of the BAP on
Saturday at the Century Park Hotel, again reiterating
that the BAP-SBP is the only recognized basketball body
by the International Basketball Association in the
country. |
