By Ronnie Nathanielsz

AS expected, the Basketball Association of the Philippines has announced, through its secretary-general Graham Lim, that the long-discredited association will seek the necessary legal remedies to the Court of Appeals’ decision upholding the election of businessman-sportsman Manuel Panglinan as president and Gov. Oscar Moreno as chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Lim never ceases to amaze us. He continues to cling on to a position in an association that is not recognized by our courts of law, the Philippine Olympic Committee and the international
governing body for basketball, Fiba. We wonder what the attraction or the incentives are for continuing to want to remain in that position or for gentleman like Rep. Luis Villafuerte or former Rep. Prospero Pichay to pursue what seems like a hopeless cause. Surely, Villafuerte, who has been mandated to perform far worthier functions as a public servant and Pichay, who heads the
National Chess Federation of the Philippines and is apparently doing a good job, must appreciate the realities and not continue to lend themselves to disruptive actions, unless of course, they wish to be tarnished by the growing public perception that politicians are mostly
faultfinders and troublemakers that hamper unity, growth and progress.

Young Peter Atencio’s article in Standard Today yesterday, which apparently came from Lim, said: “The fight for what is right and truthful continues for the tradition-steeped Basketball
Association of the Philippines.” Let’s stop there. What tradition are they speaking of? The Philippines was suspended by Fiba, the BAP ousted from the POC and the hodgepodge teams that Lim et al. sent abroad were a disgrace to the good name of our country, being mauled in every, even half-decent competition.

The present so-called leadership of the BAP and Lim in particular, cannot bank on the glory days of Philippine basketball to claim credit as though it was an essential element of the tradition
they speak of because it was never under their stewardship. To do so would be to insult the good men of that time and the players such as the great Caloy Loyzaga and his gallant band, who brought honor and glory to the Philippines by their achievements regionally and
internationally in an era of integrity and decency. We have nothing personal against Graham Lim, but when he virtually admonishes the justices of the Court of Appeals for rendering a decision based on alleged misinterpretations and twisted facts, we believe it is utterly uncalled for and an insult to the justices.

We’d like to keep faith in the belief that the CA justices are surely men and women capable of discerning the truth and appreciating the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong. It seems ironic that after being critical of the dispensation of justice by the Court of Appeals, Lim would seek redress in the same court through an appeal or take the BAP case to the highest
court of the land—the Supreme Court. We dislike saying this, but we need to have the
courage to say it. How in the name of sanity and good sense can Lim take this issue to the Supreme Court, which had ruled with finality on his citizenship case, but which he continues to ignore, obviously aided by government agencies, who demand that citizens abide by the law at
all times, but which they themselves—at least some of them—ignore when convenient and have obviously failed to implement a clear-cut decision of the Supreme Court.

Let us quickly add that we have consistently maintained that Graham Lim should not be deported for whatever reason because we sincerely believe he has a right to live here and that while the law must be upheld, it should be tempered with justice. But that’s another story.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports6_nov25_2008