Lebanon backs out of Gilas tuneup tournament in Manila

Published September 2, 2015 8:36pm

Lebanon has backed out of participation in the MVP Cup, a four-nation tournament organized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas as part of Gilas Pilipinas' buildup for the FIBA Asia Championships.

Former national team coach Chot Reyes announced the development on Wednesday via his Twitter account, expressing his disappointment with the hashtag #neveragaininvitethem.

Lebanon NT backs out after officially confirming participation in the MVP Cup #smh - stay tuned for the replacement team #neveragainvitethem
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) September 2, 2015

The West Asian country was one of the teams originally slated to compete against the Philippine national team, along with teams from New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.

Lebanon was actually one of those who accepted the invitation early, along with New Zealand, but they pulled out of the Philippine-hosted tournament scheduled for September 11-13 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

In a follow-up tweet, Reyes said Lebanon only cited "unexpected circumstances" for their decision to withdraw from the competition.

To those asking, Lebanon only cited ‘unexpected circumstances’ in their letter. But don’t worry, tuloy pa rin ang MVP Cup Sept 11-13
— Chot Reyes (@coachot) September 2, 2015

Reyes assured that the tournament, touted as the last home stand of Gilas Pilipinas before heading out to Changsha, China for FIBA Asia, will still push through.

A replacement team will be tapped to take up Lebanon's slot. —Marisse Panaligan/JST, GMA News

Tags: gilaspilipinas, mvpcup