Basketball NSW welcomed last week the latest push for an officially state-sanctioned Filipino-Australian basketball association, and called on the growing number of Filipino-Australian players, officials and clubs to throw their support behind the move.
This followed a breakthrough meeting of aficionados spearheaded by Mon Policarpio and Miko Selorio at Dooley Club in Lidcombe NSW on Wednesday, April 17, 2013.
The proposed organisation will be known as ”Filipino Australian Basketball”, or FAB for short, with the Philippine Eagle as mascot.
”Excellent!” said Basketball NSW chief executive Danny Martinez. ”I will do my utmost to help form FAB.”
After decades of Filipino basketball groups talking about to putting together an organisation that would develop young talent and provide pathways to big-time basketball in Australia, it was decided at the make-or-break meeting in Lidcombe that the time had come to make that dream come true.
”All it will take now is to formally create a corporate body that would be officially sanctioned by Basketball NSW,” Policarpio said.
”That will be just the beginning,” Selorio said. ”We will immediately follow with the formation of two formidable teams from the best Filipino talent, followed by a program of developing referees and coaches, to meet the requirements of Basketball NSW.”
Policarpio and Selorio are calling on the support of Filipino-Australian basketballers and other aficionados keen to work towards the development basketball talent across all age groups.
Further reports on progress of the new organization will follow shortly.