Harbour Centre may forgo stint in Brunei Cup

By Joel Orellana

HARBOUR CENTRE has been formally invited to the annual Brunei Cup next month, but team management is bent at skipping the tournament.

Team consultant Junel Baculi said it would be better to forgo the Brunei Cup because he would not have the materials to form a competitive team.

“Boss Mikee [Romero, Harbour Centre team owner] is very interested to join the tournament but the problem is, there are no available players kasi halos lahat nasa Liga Pilipinas,” Baculi told the BusinessMirror Wednesday.

“Our plan really is to send the core of the Harbour Centre team kasi medyo sanay na sila sa international basketball. But most of them are not available,” he added.

The seventh Brunei Cup is set on August 25. Commercial teams in Asia traditionally take part in the tournament, which a national team coached by Chot Reyes ruled in 2005 and 2006.

And because the Brunei Cup is not sanctioned by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), Basketball Association of the Philippines-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) executive director Noli Eala said it does not rank as a priority of the association.

“We’re waiting until Friday, if nothing happens, then we will not join the tournament,” said Baculi, who steered the Harbour Centre-backed Philippine team to the gold medal in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

This could be the second international tournament, after the William Jones Cup in Taipei, which the country will be forgoing.

Harbour Centre was willing to finance a team to the Taiwan tournament but Jones Cup organizers set conditions that did not sit well with Filipino basketball officials, especially on the Filipino players’ behavior during the tournament.          

Members of the RP-Harbour Centre team that are playing in the Liga Pilipinas are Boyet Bautista, Jerwin Gaco, Al Vergara, Eric Rodriguez and Eugene Tan. Another key player, Beau Belga, is currently playing for the Philippine Christian University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Three-time Most Valuable Player Jason Castro is already training with the Singapore Slingers in the Australia-based National Basketball League, while Gabe Norwood is still in the United States.

The Slingers are one of the teams being invited by the organizers and Baculi admitted that it could have been a great opportunity for them to play against Castro.

Harbour Centre joined the last edition of the Brunei Cup and finished fifth in a six-team field with a 1-4 win-loss record. Korea’s LG Sakers took the crown over Sta. Lucia Realty.

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HARBOUR CENTRE has been formally invited to the annual Brunei Cup next month, but team management is bent at skipping the tournament.

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