RP re-bids to host FIBA-Asia Olympic qualifying meet

Chances are the Philippines might host not one but two international basketball tournaments in 2011 after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) re-bid for the FIBA Asia Men's Championship slated next August. The tournament, where 16 teams are expected to compete, serves as an Olympic qualifying event for the 2012 London Games. "FIBA Asia awarded Lebanon the hosting rights but the Lebanese Basketball Federation (LBF) withdrew after unfavorable reports from observers who witnessed how they hosted the Stankovic Cup," said SBP executive director Noli Eala. Eala said China and Korea are also interested in hosting the tournament, while Lebanon aims to file a new bid to regain the right to host the games. "FIBA Asia has acknowledged our bid and we're really hoping to win this one. SBP president Manuel V. Pangilinan has instructed us to go all-out and pursue our drive to host the men’s championship, which is an important part of the program crafted by his administration," Eala added. The SBP aims to someday get the country back in the Olympics. The Philippines may figure prominently in the men's championship with the help of American 6-foot-10 center and naturalization candidate Marcus Douthit, who is expected to earn his Filipino citizenship before the end of the year. "Only the champion team in the tournament will represent Asia in the London Games. Our chances of winning will be greater if it will be held here in the country because of the crowd support and the familiarity with the playing venue," Eala said. The Philippines is currently hosting the five-nation Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Women's Championship, with the SBP hoping to use the event as proof that the country is capable of hosting an international basketball event. If FIBA-Asia awards the Men's Championship to the Philippines, it will be the second major tournament to be hosted by the country after earning the right to stage the import-flavored 2011 FIBA Champions Cup. "Hopefully the SEABA women's championship will be a prelude to bigger hosting for the country next year," Eala said. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV