CHICAGO - With the 33rd Southeast Asian Games a mere 64 days away, the $64 million question remains.
What eligibility rules will be applied?
In a meeting among the chefs de mission of the 11 participating countries last August, it was agreed that only a passport of the country an athlete represents will be enough to qualify a player for the biennial games.
READ Gilas pool expanded to 16 after QMB, Kouame, Abarrientos addition
But rumors of a potential shift have since murmured in the ensuing weeks, a move that will jeopardize Gilas Pilipinas' defense of the gold medal that is already being hampered by both the PBA's lack of eagerness to lend its players and the difficulty of foreign-based hoopers such as Dwight Ramos to get permission from their mother ballclubs.
As of Tuesday, a source revealed that Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy has told the ranks that "nothing has changed."
But an attempt to heave a giant sigh of relief is muffled by the fact that despite two written correspondence from chef de mission Dr. Jose Raul Canlas seeking confirmation regarding the eligibility rules, the organizing committee has yet to reply.
WHOOPS!
This ain't good. As a matter of common courtesy and diplomacy, the flow of communication between two parties involved in a humongous event such as the SEA Games is usually expedient and most imperative.
Only host Thailand knows why responding to an official letter conveyed electronically can be as slow as snail mail.
Whatever the reason, though, a shift in rules eligibility will benefit the Thais at least in basketball where they have six FIBA-eligible players: Tyler Lamb, Frederick Lish, Moses Morgan, Maimus Williams, Emmanuel Ejesu and Thatcharin Narbonne.
Gilas Pilipinas, meanwhile, will lose half of the team coach Norman Black is trying to put together if the organizing committee indeed adopts the FIBA eligibility rules.
Two years ago, in a campaign dubbed as the fanciful "Redeem Team," Gilas captured the gold medal against an import-laden Cambodian team.
This year, though, there's nothing to redeem. Just problems that are irredeemable, foremost of which is the unavailability of key PBA players such as June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome and others who starred in 2023.
Coach Norman Black is reportedly in the US to take care of some business. He might as well be on an island fighting a lonely, losing battle.
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