Jan. 20, 2009
MR. PATRICK BAUMANN
Secretary General
FIBA
Dear Mr. Baumann,
Firstly, allow me to introduce myself, I am Dr. Ildefonso O. Medina, Jr., a basketball fan and was once the President of the Surigao City Inter Schools Athletic Association and an affiliate of the BAP (Basketball Association of the Philippines) in case you may have forgetten already. Anyway, in case you may not have known yet, YOU and your cohorts at the FIBA and some shameless rich basketball wannabes in the Philippines just destroyed our basketball tradition, our development, and took away the hopes and aspirations of many our youths all over the country because after you took away FIBA's recognition of the BAP. You took away our grassroots development in basketball. WHY?
1. With SBP at the helm of our basketball program, our basketball future has become disfunctional and in disarray. The SBP people are not sold to the idea of having a grassroots program period! They do not have local associations affiliated with them especially from the countryside. While our city is famous all over the world for surfing, the SBP do not even know where Surigao City is situated. Whereas, the BAP has basketball associations affiliated to them from the smallest towns of the country. Even basketball and sports associations at the major urban centers are yet to be affiliated with SBP except those that are commercially focused leagues like the PBL, UAAP and NCAA and they are not even one percent of the total stakeholders of basketball in this country. Despite the almost a year of your illegal recognition of the SBP, these groups have yet to forge an agreement to be with each other's company.
2. The SBP hopes to build a National Team whose players will be recruited from the USA. Their shortsighted approach to building a national team that could instantly compete in international competitions, has practically disqualified pure blooded Filipino Players from becoming members of the National Team. For how can they?, when SBP does not even look at them at all. This kind of proposition by the SBP if allowed to go on will practically stunt the growth, hopes and aspiration of our young Filipino basketball players because their basketball horizon will be limited to local leagues.
There are many more arguments against your unilateral move of not honoring the Bangkok Agreement which you yourself affixed your signature with. You have twisted the provisions of the agreement to your liking and favor your favorite personalities with which you have annointed to run our basketball affairs. But by destroying an institution (BAP), you failed to realize that you have likewise destroyed yourself in the eyes of the majority baskeball loving Filipinos and other Asians you may have disciminated by your actions. For how can we believe you are a man of integrity when you yourself do not honor your word? I'm surprised WHY the people at FIBA still trust you? Maybe you have hypnotic powers or may have vast resources that these people believe in you.
We may be simple people but we are gentlemen and we honor our word. Even the unwritten ones. Unlike you, you have affixed your signature, your honor, your personality and yet you chose not to honor what you have written in that sacred document. Same is true with those who did not. Shame on them! But we have a term for men who do not honor their word. WE CALL THEM FEMININE!!!!! Are you MR. BAUMANN? Maybe you deserve each other because BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
I am still hoping you will realize your mistakes and correct them. I do not even know your nationality but if your people will realize what you did, I'm sure they will be ashamed of you. I hope not and they even disown you. And I hope they will eventually. Your racist attitude do not deserve our respect, the same with the people you are working with.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Ildefonso O. Medina, Jr.
Surigao City, Philippines
MR. PATRICK BAUMANN
Secretary General
FIBA
Dear Mr. Baumann,
Firstly, allow me to introduce myself, I am Dr. Ildefonso O. Medina, Jr., a basketball fan and was once the President of the Surigao City Inter Schools Athletic Association and an affiliate of the BAP (Basketball Association of the Philippines) in case you may have forgetten already. Anyway, in case you may not have known yet, YOU and your cohorts at the FIBA and some shameless rich basketball wannabes in the Philippines just destroyed our basketball tradition, our development, and took away the hopes and aspirations of many our youths all over the country because after you took away FIBA's recognition of the BAP. You took away our grassroots development in basketball. WHY?
1. With SBP at the helm of our basketball program, our basketball future has become disfunctional and in disarray. The SBP people are not sold to the idea of having a grassroots program period! They do not have local associations affiliated with them especially from the countryside. While our city is famous all over the world for surfing, the SBP do not even know where Surigao City is situated. Whereas, the BAP has basketball associations affiliated to them from the smallest towns of the country. Even basketball and sports associations at the major urban centers are yet to be affiliated with SBP except those that are commercially focused leagues like the PBL, UAAP and NCAA and they are not even one percent of the total stakeholders of basketball in this country. Despite the almost a year of your illegal recognition of the SBP, these groups have yet to forge an agreement to be with each other's company.
2. The SBP hopes to build a National Team whose players will be recruited from the USA. Their shortsighted approach to building a national team that could instantly compete in international competitions, has practically disqualified pure blooded Filipino Players from becoming members of the National Team. For how can they?, when SBP does not even look at them at all. This kind of proposition by the SBP if allowed to go on will practically stunt the growth, hopes and aspiration of our young Filipino basketball players because their basketball horizon will be limited to local leagues.
There are many more arguments against your unilateral move of not honoring the Bangkok Agreement which you yourself affixed your signature with. You have twisted the provisions of the agreement to your liking and favor your favorite personalities with which you have annointed to run our basketball affairs. But by destroying an institution (BAP), you failed to realize that you have likewise destroyed yourself in the eyes of the majority baskeball loving Filipinos and other Asians you may have disciminated by your actions. For how can we believe you are a man of integrity when you yourself do not honor your word? I'm surprised WHY the people at FIBA still trust you? Maybe you have hypnotic powers or may have vast resources that these people believe in you.
We may be simple people but we are gentlemen and we honor our word. Even the unwritten ones. Unlike you, you have affixed your signature, your honor, your personality and yet you chose not to honor what you have written in that sacred document. Same is true with those who did not. Shame on them! But we have a term for men who do not honor their word. WE CALL THEM FEMININE!!!!! Are you MR. BAUMANN? Maybe you deserve each other because BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
I am still hoping you will realize your mistakes and correct them. I do not even know your nationality but if your people will realize what you did, I'm sure they will be ashamed of you. I hope not and they even disown you. And I hope they will eventually. Your racist attitude do not deserve our respect, the same with the people you are working with.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Ildefonso O. Medina, Jr.
Surigao City, Philippines
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