PBA: Rain or Shine lends complete support for Gilas, MVP to talk to other team owners for help

In the midst of game two of their best-of-seven Philippine Cup Finals series, the owners of both the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters set aside some time to display their solidarity with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) in order to form the strongest Philippine team possible for the upcoming FIBA Asia tournament, to be held in the Manila from August 1 to 11.

Rain or Shine owner Raymond Yu, who was seated beside co-owner Terry Que, threw their full support behind the Smart Gilas national team, saying, "Basta kami sa Rain or Shine, full support kami sa national team as long as kaya namin.

[Related: Persistent SBP's patience rewarded with FIBA Asia Championship hosting gig]

"Just let us know kung sino sa mga players namin yung kailangan niyo and we'll be more than happy to lend them."

SBP president and owner of both the Meralco Bolts and the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Manuel V. Pangilinan thanked the ROS owners saying they "demonstrated that there are values that are bigger than PBA teams."

The PBA, through Commissioner Chito Salud, also expressed their complete support for Gilas Pilipinas, saying, "The PBA welcomes this development with great pride, anticipation, and excitement. As a member of the SBP, the PBA remains supportive of Gilas in its quest to qualify for the FIBA World Championships in Spain come 2014. We believe that this occassion will be a historic event for our fans and our country."

"As early as last year, we already passed a resolution that the Gilas Pilipinas national team can utilize PBA players," Salud added. "As a member of the SBP, we will do our best to help them achieve the main objectives, which are to successfully stage this event, to field the strongest team possible, and to make sure that all the owners are on board."

Asked if he expects other teams to lend their players to Gilas Pilipinas, Pangilinan said it was entirely up to the other team owners, pointing out, "There is no compulsion. We can just appeal to them."

When he was asked again if he would personally talk to the other teams, Pangilinan answered "Sure, I will appeal to team owners."

SBP Vice Chairman Ricky Vargas also made it clear that the team will be called Gilas Pilipinas. "The name is Pilipinas. It's Gilas Pilipinas. We carry the Philippine flag," Vargs said after being asked if they were willing to make adjustments in case other teams felt that having the Smart branding on the team might work against them.

Panglinan added that FIBA wants the home country to field a strong team in the competitions. "FIBA wants to ensure that the home team, dapat malakas," Pangilinan elaborated. "The ticket sales might dip if the home team does not make it far."

He also added that they will talk to the collegiate leagues to see if they could suspend their games for the entire duration of the FIBA Asia tournament.

"So as not divide the attention of the basketball fans here in the Philippines, we will request to suspend the games in the dates," Pangilinan said. "We will formally ask the leagues but we cannot demand it from them." - AMD, GMA News