Seaba postponement disrupts PBA calendar

By Jesse C. Ong 

A recent decision by the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) to move its 2017 tournament a month later from its original schedule is causing much trouble for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and Gilas Pilipinas as far as their own calendar is concerned. 

In a published online report, it was learned that Seaba was forced to postpone the event from April to late May, citing conflicts in the schedule of local leagues in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

The new schedule, however, creates a major problem for the PBA owing to its commitment to lend players belonging to Gilas’ 25-man pool in the weeks leading to the competition under a memorandum of agreement signed with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Based on the PBA calendar, the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup is slated to unfold on March 17, and the new Seaba schedule may leave the 12 teams without their best players at a critical phase of the tournament when they battle for playoff spots.

The final stretch of the eliminations will likely fall on the week the Seaba is being conducted if the PBA’s schedule for the season is to be followed.

And even if the SBP has already advised the PBA to take a break during the Seaba tournament, what could cause an even major concern for the squads is the fact that the pro league has committed to release Gilas cadets to the national team 60 days prior to a tournament, and the veteran players 15 days prior.

That would mean the Gilas cadets, led by top rookie Mac Belo of Blackwater will have to sit out the first two months of the Commissioner’s Cup, while veteran stars June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva will have to miss games beginning May.

As of this writing, SBP and PBA officials have yet to schedule a meeting to come up with possible solutions to the problem.