SBP: Barroca’s Smart Gilas stint not affected by issues with FEU

Mark Barroca’s personal issues with Far Eastern University hardly affect his standings as a major component of the RP Smart Gilas team. Noli Eala, executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), on Saturday said that the country’s sole governing body for the sport is not in any way affected by accusations that Barroca was allegedly involved in game-fixing. Although reports are unconfirmed, allegations of point-shaving apparently led to the split between the gung-ho playmaker from Zamboanga and the Tamaraws.

For the SBP and the RP Smart Gilas team though, its bond with Barroca remains solid as they consider him a key player in their ambitious bid to land a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. “Barroca is already with RP Smart Gilas and will continue to be part of the team," said Eala when asked for comment regarding the matter. Besides, Eala isn’t inclined to believe that the FEU sports recreation management student was involved in shady deals as earlier reports would suggest. “I don’t think it is fair to pass any judgment on Mark, much less to be alarmed by sketchy reports at this time," the SBP official said. Barroca was personally handpicked by Serbian coach Rajko Toroman to be the top point man of the RP Smart Gilas squad following a series of tryouts held last year. In the Nationals’ first major international competition under Toroman, Barroca averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 assists and 3.2 steals during the 2009 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. The brilliant plays of Barroca during the week-long competition easily caught the eyes of Lebanese star player Fadi El Khatib and Omar El Turk, who even boasted that the FEU guard is the “next Jimmy Alapag." El Khatib was vocal in saying that he considers Alapag the “best point guard in Asia." With Barroca scoring 28 points in 31 minutes, the Nationals stunned Al Riyadi of Lebanon in the Champions Cup, 91-86, and made it to the quarterfinals. Eala said he has yet to hear the side of Barroca on the alleged game-fixing scandal, but admitted having spoken already with FEU officials. “FEU is handling the matter very well and we should all give them space to sort things out," he said. Hurt by the accusations, Barroca, through his manager Ed Ponceja, had said he was leaving the Tamaraws and would concentrate instead on his playing stint with Gilas. On Saturday, the Tams played their Final Four rival UE Warriors without Barroca and announced they were dropping Barroca out of their roster for the rest of the season. - GMANews.TV