MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - The past two years have been stellar for the Philippines. They came in second at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship on home soil to qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain where they beat Senegal for their first World Cup win in 40 years. They also finished on the podium of the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup, a first for the team in that tournament's history. In addition, the Philippines officially bagged the World Cup's MVF Best Country award.

By all intents and purposes, the Philippines built more than enough momentum to mount a magical run and be an overwhelming title favorite at the upcoming FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China (23 September-3 October).

Recent developments, however, have put their promising prospects in clear and present danger.

For starters, injuries and personal affairs have become go-to reasons for some of the country's stars to beg off from national team duty.

For instance, two of the Filipinos' top three point guards have practically backed out. They are Paul Lee, who expressed his uncertainty at participating owing to a trip to the States for his ailing grandmother, and LA Tenorio, who cited failing form and a variety of injuries (it is worth noting, however, that Tenorio has been with the national team since 2012). The same is true of the Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) most dangerous three-point shooter, Marcio Lassiter, who has opted to go to the States to attend to personal matters instead of staying put for training camp.

Aside from them, back-to-back PBA MVP and potential FIBA Asia breakout player June Mar Fajardo has also signified his intention to prioritize letting a plantar fasciitis injury - which he supposedly aggravated throughout his team's championship run in recent weeks - heal up. Iconic power forward Marc Pingris, widely regarded as the national team's strongest embodiment of "puso" (heart), has also planned to skip a significant chunk of training camp to go abroad for family reasons. This, of course, puts his final selection in serious jeopardy.

Perhaps the most jarring concern right now, though, is how several PBA clubs have signified their collective stance to lend just one player each to the national cause. Based on initial reports, these clubs are San Miguel Beer, Ginebra, Purefoods Star and Rain or Shine, all of whom are among the most talent-rich teams in the league. It is highly unusual for any national team program to have a hard time inviting players to don the country's colors, since, most of the time, players would line up in order to proudly represent the flag. Ironically enough and much to the dismay of many Pinoy basketball fans, this is not the case in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, politicking and corporate rivalry rule the streets and even the basketball courts.

It is pretty much public knowledge that the aforementioned teams don't wish to send many players to the national program - even if these players want to - because the national team's main sponsor is from a rival conglomerate. There have also been some whisperings of some PBA teams' fears that their players will be "pirated" by the sponsor's PBA clubs once the FIBA Asia tournament is over.

The result so far? Team Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin, the same man who has been able to do wonders for New Zealand basketball and the programs of Jordan and Lebanon in the past, has had to modify his "wishlist" of players because many, if not most, of the guys he wants won't be "permitted" to join the national side. This is a truly strange scenario for a country banking on its "passion for basketball" in its pitch to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Clearly, the only passion seen here is the one going on between rival companies to outmaneuver and outwit one another, not the passion to raise Philippine basketball to even higher standards.

To make matters worse, a report has come in that there's a fair chance that naturalized star big man Andray Blatche won't be released by his CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) club, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Xinjiang just signed Blatche to a very lucrative US $7.5 million three-year contract (currently the largest in CBA history), and, as expected, they don't want to risk their prized big man injuring himself while playing for the Philippines and, in the process, possibly denying China of a berth in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Also, Xinjiang failed to make the CBA Playoffs despite Blatche playing extremely well last season. The Flying Tigers have been building a powerhouse team in the offseason and they are hell-bent on making sure their investments pan out. If it is true that Blatche will be officially and formally barred from playing for the Philippines (lest his livelihood be put at risk), then the Filipinos’ chances of remaining as a top tier team in the continent go poof with him.

Oh and let's not even get started on the fact they haven't even started training camp!

If that happens, contending for an Olympic slot will be the least of coach Tab's worries. Imagine - just coming up with a highly-competitive team will mean begging and scrounging for players who are willing and able. The Philippines is in danger of falling down from being a stellar squad to a hapless band.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

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