PBA moves Governor’s Cup to give Gilas more time to train

MANILA, Philippines – With the Philippines pressured to deliver well in the upcoming FIBA-Asia Championships in August, the Philippine Basketball Association chipped in help once more by moving the start of the Governor’s Cup to until after the Asian tournament.

In a series of tweets using the official @pbaconnect account, PBA Commissioner Chito Salud said that team owners have agreed to transfer the third conference of its 2013 season to accommodate the need of Gilas Pilipinas to train more.

“I had a very positive and productive talk with our team owners,” Salud said. “Not only have they agreed to lend their players, they readily okayed moving the 3rd conf till after the fiba asia tourney.”

The move gives the Gilas Pilipinas squad coached by Chot Reyes two full months of what Salud called “unhampered training” while also extending the Commissioner’s Cup, which will open Friday, by a month.

“As i have said, when good men reason together, the outcome is inevitably beneficial to everyone,” Salud added. “In this case, our owners placed national interest above all considerations. I am so proud of the pba.”

To be held for the first time in Manila in 40 years, the FIBA-Asia Championship also serves as a qualifier for the first-ever FIBA World Cup in 2014.

Meanwhile, Reyes also announced on his Twitter account @coachot that the final pool will be released on Thursday after a special PBA Board Meeting while also adding that the length of their preparation for the tournament is now immaterial.

“Appreciate all tweets abt length of prep,” he posted. “It’s now immaterial. We have 2 months. Lets make d most of whats given. Just pray for Team Pilipinas.” – Rappler.com