source: Joel Orellana | businessmirror.com.ph

It looks like Smart Gilas will complete its 10-game guesting stint in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.

PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios said Sunday the developmental team will not withdraw from the tournament and that talks are ongoing with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Noli Eala.

“There will be no pullout [by Smart Gilas],” Barrios told the BusinessMirror. The PBA earlier announced Smart Gilas’s games will have no bearing on PBA teams.

“Commissioner Noli and I are in touch and are having positive communication regarding the issue,” Barrios added.

Eala said they are still awaiting the answers of the PBA to some questions that will help them decide on the next course of action.

“According to commissioner Sonny [Barrios], he will still consult the PBA on this matter,” he said.

After the PBA announced its decision, Eala issued a statement saying SBP is planning to cut short the team’s stint in the All-Filipino tournament.

“While I do not question the prerogative of the commissioner to decide on this matter, this decision to change their own rules in midconference based on limited parameters imposed by the board is highly unusual and also unfortunate,” Eala said, adding they are still deciding on whether to continue or pull out.

The issue started when Smart Gilas’s American player CJ Giles, who is expected to be naturalized in time for the qualifying events for the 2012 London Olympics, played just five minutes against Talk ’N Text that resulted to a 103-70 rout.

Some members of the board questioned the timing of Giles’ “benching” by Serbian coach Rajko Toroman as Gilas and the Tropang Texters are like sister teams—they both have the same “boss” in Manny V. Pangilinan.

Eala reasoned out that the 24-year-old Giles is being bothered by the health condition of his four-year-old son Jaden, who was diagnosed with a blood clot in his arteries.

Giles sat out again in the team’s following game against Barangay Ginebra where they absorbed a 100-72 beating.

Barrios was directed by the board, chaired by Burger King team manager Lito Alvarez, to choose only between two options—one is for Smart Gilas’s games to have no bearing on the PBA teams or for Smart Gilas not to play CJ Giles in any of its remaining games.

Barrios opted for the first, saying, “We recognize that CJ Giles is a very vital part of the national team, the reason why he is considered as a candidate for naturalization for Filipino citizen.”

Giles is on leave, according to Eala, to attend to his ailing son and was expected to return for the game against Coca-Cola on Friday at the Astrodome.


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