I cannot think of a more auspicious time to be a basketball fan and lover of the game. Looking back just a couple years ago basketball seemed to have been declared dead in our country with the FIBA suspension. This came on the heels of the expulsion by the Philippine Olympic Committee of the old Basketball Association of the Philippines.

Who could blame the POC then? The BAP had sent a ragtag team of varsity players from some noname school whom no credible adult would ever consider competitive to embarass themselves and the country in the FIBA Boris Stancovic Cup against top Asian competition.

That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. After a very public quarrel between the POC and the BAP, FIBA finally came in and simply suspended the country from international basketball competitions, with the admonision that everyone kindly get their acts together. And get their acts together they did, forming the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas, the country’s new official and FIBA recognized national basketball federation. SBP is - for all practical intents and purposes - the National Sports Agency for basketball in the country. Of course in a country of sore losers, the BAP simply refused to cooperate, or whither and die. Refusing even to respond to SBP’s communications, BAP went on to conduct its own activities like it was business as usual. After their soso National Students Championship in the Visayas, they put together the Pichay Cup, named after their new patron, losing senatorial candidate Prospero Pichay. Even Congressman Luis Villafuerte got in on the act, publicly and loudly disavowing SBP President Manny Pangilinan.

But putting aside all of these ridiculous sideshows all of the recent developments in Philippine basketball would lift the hearts of all true hoops lovers. Forming the SBP and putting Manny Pangilinan and Pato Gregorio in charge was a good first step. These two gentlemen have even spent out of their own pockets to make certain that Philippine basketball and all its attendant programs and affiliates would always run smoothly and properly from now on. Organizing the Men’s, Women’s and Youth teams this early, as well as instituting the National Basketball Training Centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are even better. Recently the boys youth team successfully dominated the Southeast Asian Basketball Association youth tournament, walloping opponents by over 40 points per game.

All of this has gotten done in spite of all the politicking by the other parties. Are we back on the basketball map? Not yet, but I know sure as daylight we’re on our merry way.