Air21 import Bangura gets green light to play

Pending his letter of clearance from the Lebanese Basketball League, veteran FIBA Africa campaigner Alpha Bangura can suit up and reinforce the Air21 Express in their 5 p.m. encounter against Smart Gilas Wednesday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Astrodome. Bangura, a former member of the Libyan national team, replaces the ineffective Jeremy Robinson. PBA operations manager Rickie Santos made this clarification to GMA News, saying the import can play while his clearance is still being worked out. "In the PBA, imports are given a 15-day grace period, mainly because there are imports being tapped right away," said Santos in a telephone interview. "But while playing, his mother team needs to work on his Letter of Clearance (LOC) the soonest possible time to avoid being penalized." Should the import fail to get his clearance after the 15-day grace period, he will be suspended from playing and his mother team will be penalized 7,500 euro, according to Santos. "The communication in terms of sending LOC is between federation to federation. The Lebanese basketball federation will send the LOC to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, so the LOC of Bangura should come from the SBP. If the import fails to secure the LOC, FIBA, which is the governing body in basketball, will penalize the SBP, then the SBP will fine the PBA. On our part, we will fine the import’s mother team, which is Air21," explained Santos. Allan Gregorio, Air21 team manager, said they have the documents which will prove that Bangura can play legally in the PBA. "Aside from the 15-day grace period, we have all the documents to prove he is legally okay to play, and Annibal, Bangura’s former team in Lebanon, will not pursue any legal battle with him," said Gregorio in a text message. - Rey Joble, JVP, KY, GMA News