SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines — And the Philippines-Taiwan saga takes another twist.
Defending champion Gilas Pilipinas will not participate in the 2013 Jones Cup after coach Chot Reyes confirmed that they have been “un-invited” from the annual hoops joust in Chinese Taipei.
“Just got word from d organizers that we have been un-invited to d Jones Cup,” he posted using @coachot. “Di matapos-tapos ang problema ng Gilas ha.”
Riding on the heroics of spitfire guard LA Tenorio, the Philippine crew edged the United States, 76-75, in the 2012 championship round to win the first Jones Cup title for the country since 1998.
However, the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters almost 2 weeks ago increased tension between Taipei and Manila.
Reyes, answering a question about the reason why organizers pulled the plug on Gilas’ participation in the event, said that “the on-going RP-Taiwan tension stemming from the fisherman slay” doomed their hopes of defending the crown.
With the development, Reyes said that they will be looking at other options to continue the Gilas squad’s preparation for the FIBA Asia Championships to be hosted by the country in August.
“We now have to find a replacement tournament as d Jones Cup is such an integral part of our preparation,” he tweeted. – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.