Graham Chua Lim - One-on-One with Graham Lim

Graham, the invisible action man

1/27/2018

E-mail: gmalagar@ymail.com

January 27, 2018 Saturday, Cebu City
Title: Graham, the Invisible action man
By: GABRIEL G. MALAGAR

Graham Lim, the secretary-general of the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP) is putting more action than words in helping to improve the sports in the country, particularly here in Cebu.

Like a wind that you can feel it's there but you cannot see, you can sense Graham's presence when you noticed school or universities from Cebu city are participating in international competitions. The latest school to go out of the country in Cebu for international competitions is University of San Jose Recoletos last week of October to November 5, 2017.

It was due to Lim's backing that the USJR Jaguars were able to participate in the Xiamen College Basketball Tournament held in Xiamen, China where they finished at third place.

Bannered by veteran Coach Jun Noel and headed by USJR Athletic Director Father Nestor C. Raras, OAR who was very grateful to Lim saying it was the first time the Jaguars went out to participate in a collegiate-based international competition giving them a great experience.

Lim was the one who arranged the Jaguars' wonderful journey and they are just among the Cebu universities to have visited abroad due to Lim.

Literally, Lim is the invisible man but even without his physical presence, he manages to persuade the USJR Jaguars to join an international event without meeting all these guys in person, from the players, the coaching staff and Fr. Raras.

According to Father Raras, it was just a sense of trust upon hearing the name Graham negotiating for us to went out of the country, endorsing us (the Jaguars) with the China embassy in Cebu through his initiative, we just believe Graham will deliver us the main problem of getting a Chinese visa and surely with Graham's endorsement at the China Embassy gave us so much relief that we will surely be able to get our visa on time.

Others labeled Graham as like a ghost that even if they don't see him, you can feel him everywhere, people work around him and get directive or instructions from him.

Surprisingly, many people really follow him. Imagine, Lim is not here in the Philippines, yet he gained so much attention from everyone in sports, the main reason why things move in his favor is that person you really feel safe and feel secure working with him so that with his successes in handling tournaments, many hated him so much.

Trust and respect are perhaps the-very-main reasons why Lim has so many followers and supporters to his projects everywhere. In any place he visited---be it a small town or a big city province, people just came out very openly supporting what Graham would plan for any sports, not only basketball but practically all sports, you talk about table tennis, lawn tennis, archery, wushu, judo, badminton, and many more.

Lim has also so many contacts and supporters from the students who are enrolled in different universities and colleges elsewhere in the country who are asking tips of advises how to get involved in sports, not for monetary consideration but more on for the love of sports.

In the 2015 Universiade held in Gwangju, South Korea, this writer was among the three Filipino media-men who were sent to cover the games.

Even if one cannot see Lim personally, they can still sense that he is there. No one can talk to him directly but he is there texting his friends how to handle tournaments as he guides them through mental communication.

Many are still wondering how things happen without seeing Lim around. Lim said the reason why he is successful because he likes and trust honest people and he is not dealing with people who have tattered credibility. Sometimes we fail because of our wrong decision, especially selfish decision.

Graham Lim said that having many friends is the usual guide to success that's why he choose his friends whom he can trust. GABRIEL G. MALAGAR/

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Goodbye 2017, hello 2018

12/28/2017

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Goodbye 2017, hello 2018

December 26, 2017 People's Tonight
Written by Ed Andaya; Published in Opinion

IN a few days, it will be goodbye 2017, hello 2018 for all of us.
This is the time of the year that the obituary in the sporting year about to end is now being written.

Surely, we had some memorable moments in the wonderful world of sports in 2017 -- Krizziah Lyn Tabora’s meteoric rise in the World Cup of Bowling, Carlo Biado’s triumph in the World 9-ball billiards, Jerwin Ancajas’ successful title defenses in boxing, Mary Joy Tabal’s dominance in athletics and Jomar Balangui’s inspiring performance in the Taipei Universiade wushu competitions.

And even the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas’ successul bid to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup along with Japan and Indonesia.

But of course, we are always ready for a fresh start.

We have celebrated the triumphs of these few good men and women in local sports but now we’re ready to move forward by welcoming 2018 and saying goodbye to the five things we’d like to leave behind in 2017.

-- POC president Peping Cojuangco and other over-staying and under-achieving sports officials.

We’ve heard about it many times before in the past. So we say enough is enough. The Filipino sports fans have suffered long enough.

Save for Tabora and a few other athletes who made us proud, the Philippines’ showing in the sporting year about to end left a lot to be desired. In fact, the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur was a complete disaster no matter how the best spin doctors put it.

And before that fateful two weeks in Kuala Lumpur where the Filipinos won only 23 golds, the Filipino sports fans were treated to nothing but sad telenovelas of failed missions here, there and everywhere.

Consider the debacles in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, the 2012 Olympics in London, 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2017 SEA Games in KL -- all under Cojuangco’s watch.

In 2018, the sports community pray that these Jurassic-like sports officials will finally see the light, decide to throw in the towel and give way to young, energetic and results-oriented new leaders.

It’s a dream. But we can dream, can’t we?

-- Too much politics and the never-ending power struggle among sports leaders.

Most of the disasters in international competitions have been blamed on the wrong choice of athletes tasked to represent the country.

But do we have the right officials?

Since being appointed by President Duterte to the country’s government sports body, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez and his four commissioners -- Ramon Fernandez, Charles Maxey, Arnold Agustin and Celia Kiram -- are waging an all-out war against corruption in sports and eradicate the bata-bata practice by some non-performing NSAs.

As Ramirez himself said, “Money isn’t only problem affecting local sports. Sometimes the choice of athletes by our officials hurt our chances, too. It’s about time we do something about it.”

The leadership squabbles in some national sports associations also hurt our chances to do better in the sporting field.

Why, even the ever-reliable Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), which has produced one gold and two silver medals in only four Universiades, is now being pulled down by power-hungry, credit-grabbing individuals.

After giving the country a gold medal in chess thru GM Wesley So in 2013 Kazan Universiade and silver medals in taekwondo thru Samuel Morrison in 2011 Shenzhen and wushu thru Balangui in 2017 Taipei, FESSAP is now being unfairly questioned by several individuals who want to take over and replace it with their own organization.

In 2018, we hope these self-proclaimed leaders put an end to politics in sports and give credit where credit is due.

-- Unsportsmanlike attitude of officials and below-par performances of referees and other game officials.

We all know that nobody is perfect. In sports, even top officials make glaring errors in judgment.

This year, we have had enough that we will surely run out of space if we list the so-called violators.

We certainly can leave them behind and see more sportsmanship on and off the court next year.

We surely don’t want another young reader writing the newspaper editor to ask if there’s still sportsmanship in sports.

-- Gambling, game-fixing, point-shaving and related nuances.

We know they exist as far back as the birth of the Olympic Games in Greece. But can we at least control them, or as they used to say it in politics, moderate the greed?

Although nobody can prove it, many great games and great players have been unfairly affected by these malpractices. Several collegiate players have been unceremoniously removed from their teams on suspicions that they took a dive on important games.

If we can’t completely stop it, at least let’s try to leave some of them behind in 2017.

-- And finally, an end to the never-ending persecution of our friend, Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) secretary-general Graham Lim.

What have you done wrong in sports, Mr. Lim?

If wanting to be a Filipino citizen and joining your family at home after being forced out for so many years now is a crime, then maybe let’s bring together all our brilliant lawmakers and rewrite all existing laws about human rights.

If trying to earn a living as honestly as he can is also a crime, let’s also persecute all the less-fortunate individuals selling their wares on the sidewalks.

And if loving basketball too much is a crime, let’s deport him to some faraway island where there are no basketballs.

In 2018, let me add our small voice to the silent majority wishing -- and praying -- for an end to this unfair and inhuman treatment of Lim.

It just wasn’t right.

NOTES -- Happy birthday to my youngest brother Christopher Andaya, who will celebrate on Dec. 31 in Riyadh, KSA.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail to edandaya2003@yahoo.com

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OF SPORTS, POLITICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE (Philippines):

3/30/2017

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Article for March 30, 2017 Address to:
The Honorable Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

OF SPORTS, POLITICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE (Philippines):
President Durterte – In response to some sector’s appeal for the United Nations to interfere in Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.
By: Graham C. Lim, member, National Press Club of the Philippines

Nearly 11 months after he took office as President of the Republic of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has continued to wage war against illegal drugs in his country. It is the centerpiece of his governance in addition to his goal to eradicate corruption in the bureaucracy.

A great majority of the Filipino people is appreciative of President Duterte’s campaign against drugs proliferation. A mid-March survey by Pulse Asia (a respected survey company in the Philippines) showed that 82 percent of Filipinos feel more safe than before when president Duterte launched his campaign against unscrupulous people in the drug trade at the start of his six-year term.

It feels good to see real changes happening in less than a year’s time under the administration of President Duterte.

Duterte’s genuine campaign for change is a phenomenon that only Filipinos can be proud of but also a shining breakthrough in other parts of the world where the menacing drug trade has prospered and narco-politics now rule.

The drug menace has destroyed human lives, break up family, and endanger the security of social communities.

Duterte’s national leadership of more than 100 million Filipinos stems from his strong political will on matters that greatly affect his countrymen.

The ordinary Filipino has been seeking solutions to various problems that had hounded past presidents and addressed by them half-heartedly.

Worse, some of the national leaders brush them off like an irritant fly. The Secretary of Justice from the past administration, is now an imprisoned Senator after being charged of being a drug protector at the National Penitentiary Bilibid Prison, which was under her supervision during her time at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and was infested with drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

That the opposition, of which the country’s Vice President is the titular head, is accusing the Duterte of criminal acts arising in the campaign against drugs, like alleged extrajudicial killings of drug addicts/protectors, has raised some concern to many.

The Vice President who is with other political party, even went too far to send a video to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations of alleged criminal acts by the police and the President, without verifying the authenticity of the reported extra-judicial killings, nor any proofs that the killings of drug personalities were state-sponsored.

The report , which is allegedly part of the opposition to destabilize the Duterte administration and an open invitation for outside forces to meddle in the affairs of the country, is simply a demolition job as most statements are not of first-hand knowledge and mostly were worded with “She said, he said, and according to ….”

That the United Nations and European Union will fall for this zarzuela is astonishing. They are riding on empty space as reports brought to them are never verified, relying on the say-so of the opposition, Commission on Human Rights (whose leader was appointed by past administration during his time), hypocritical Church (financially well-off despite the vow of poverty and chastity professed by the priesthood) and moneyed anti-Duterte trolls in the United States that are out to topple Duterte and install their puppet in the opposition.

That Duterte was the winner of the Philippine presidential elections by more than a six million-vote advantage of the second-place finisher shows that he has the mandate of the Filipino people. That “The voice of the people is the voice of God” is a generally acceptable principle, too.

But Duterte is being pilloried by foreign imperialists who see the president as a maverick who is not dancing to their traditional music of paying homage to them.

Duterte has an independent mind and is not beholden to the master-slave policies of foreign governments such as the U.S. and European countries.

His program is for the Filipino to stand up on its own and be proud of its race. He is fully committed to the betterment of the Filipino first and foremost.

Duterte’s love for the poor is admirable as he, too, came from a poor family. He does not want Juan dela Cruz, or the ordinary folks, to suffer humiliation and surrender its dignity in the face of financial hardship.

The traffic in the major thoroughfares in the Metro Manila area admittedly has been horrendous. But what made matters worse in the past was the high-handed attitude of some taxi drivers, illegal activities in the international airports (like the planting of bullets there during the watch of the previous administration that is now a thing of the past under Duterte) and the maltreatment of Filipino overseas workers. These are some of major problems that Duterte inherited from the incompetent and vindictive past administration that was also plagued by corrupt practices by lower-ranked officials whom he considered as friends who are untouchables

The military/police is another area that Duterte has sought to strengthen. The Philippine National Police is committed to tread the straight and narrow path. The rule of law is the guiding principle. Duterte has started to dismiss scalawags in the police ranks and in the long run, he intends to uplift their stature through the upgrade of their salary and equipment.

Soon the general public will have a better perception of our military and police forces, so unlike before when they were depicted as corrupt and even clumsy as portrayed in the movies.

In Duterte, Juan dela Cruz has finally found an ally, somebody who is dead-serious in solving the problems that have taken their toll on poor Filipinos who neither have the finances nor power on their side.

Duterte is aggressively going after drug lords and drug users among all classes, including the rich and influential.

He is going after corrupt government officials that launder money and stash their ill-gotten wealth in foreign banks, greedy oligarchs that control the country’s economy, and is trying his darn best to correct the flawed and corrupt justice system that has wrought havoc on law-abiding citizens and instead has given the law breakers the impunity to do wrong on the guise that their human rights are protected by the inutile Commission on Human Rights now and before during the term of an immoral and corrupt Senator – now imprisoned without bail for her illicit drug activities and bribery acts in the National Penitentiary Bilibid Prison – as this adulterous Senator (who publicly admitted to being the mistress of a married driver of hers during her stay in the DOJ) had previously held the top positions in the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

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Difference between FIVB and FIBA:

10/12/2016

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FIVB – International Volleyball Federation
FIBA – International Basketball Federation

The FIVB and FIBA, the two world-governing sports organizations for volleyball and basketball, respectively, have contrasting management styles.

Whereas the FIVB adheres to democratic process, the FIBA subscribes to centralized rule with dictatorial tendencies.

Here’s the comparison.

The officials of the FIVB are elected by the Congress with the president heading the leadership.

On the other hand, the FIBA is run Mafiosa-style like a family corporation led by its secretary general Patrick Baumann and secretary general emeritus Borislav Stankovic and others who benefit from the ransacking of the FIBA coffers like Robert “Bob” Elphinston, and many more…..

The FIVB holds its Congress to determine who are its legitimate members, while the Secretariat, which is composed of selective members headed by shadowy ringleader Borislav Stankovic and his lackey Baumann, has absolute authority to pick who it desires as members so long as you have the financial capability to cater to the whims of the inept duo.

Their convoluted motto: Show me the money and you become a FIBA member regardless of anything else.

The FIVB recently held its Congress in Argentina and tackled the issue of whether to expel one of its member, the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) that is the current National Sports Association for volleyball in the Philippines that the Philippine Olympic Committee headed by an aging and overstaying official wanted to dismiss in favor of a bogus organization known “LVPI” that he could easily control.

The democratic style of dealing with issues, with due process available to the aggrieved, is very laudable and speaks highly of the FIVB.

That can hardly be said of the FIBA, which sacked the tradition-steeped Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), in favor of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), whose leader is a business tycoon whose money overflows because of his connection with his Indonesian friend.

Without hearing the side of the BAP, which is part and parcel of any dispute that calls for due process, Baumann, in conspiracy with his aging mentor Stankovic, expelled the BAP and took in the SBP in 2009.

This was done unilaterally as other members of the credibility-challenged FIBA were not involved the process. The dictatorial words of Baumann and Stankovic were the only voices heard.

As it turned out, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Such is the sad state of the FIBA today as members are silently moving around to question the incompetent FIBA leadership, coming as it did on the heels of the FIFA (world-governing body for football) scandal that booted out the corrupt leaders of the football organization.

The purpose of this correspondence is for the non-aligned FIBA members to visualize the stark difference in the running of federation affairs by the FIVB versus the FIBA and for them to finally speak up against the dictatorial and corrupt practices in the FIBA hierarchy so that the latter may yet be cleansed of its tainted image and credibility around the world, so much so that one National Basketball Association team owner, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, publicly said that the FIBA is all about money.

The FIBA is not Baumann, Stankovic and their gang alone. But the way it has been run from the top, the FIBA has all the markings of a family corporation whose objective is not to uplift basketball all over the world but rather fill up the pockets of Baumann, Stankovic and their filthy and greedy ilk.

Corruption is not acceptable in the FIBA and everywhere else.

That the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) was invited to attend the FIVB Congress to state its case to all the entire FIVB membership and their fate left to the sentiments of all the members of the organization without any financial considerations speaks well of the democratic process observed by the FIVB leadership.

If only the BAP was accorded the same democratic treatment then Philippine basketball would not have been in shambles today where only money talks and nothing else does.

The BAP was not allowed to present its case and no due process was held primarily because the issue had long been settled in favor of the moneyed SBP for monetary and marketing consideration.

The FIBA Commission would not hear anything about the BAP position and later orchestrated to torpedo the case the BAP filed because the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) that led to the ouster of the BAP from the FIBA even if it had been a member of FIBA family since 1936.

In a grand conspiracy among Baumann and his gang, the FIBA and SBP, and ultimately the CAS (some of its equally corrupt members are chummy with the FIBA top honcho), the BAP case was dismissed without a thorough study and oral arguments presented by the opposing sides.

The wining and dining simply got the demolition job done against the BAP.

Stranger than fiction, the CAS decision against the BAP was never posted in the former’s website bulletin.

It could not even be ascertain if the CAS knew that the BAP and PBA (professional league) are two different entities.

Though moot and academic, in hindsight, it would have best for the FIBA hierarchy to tackle the issue of basketball leadership in the Philippines in a FIBA Congress and have the entire membership hear out both sides and then determine a solution to the case without any bias to any.

Fairness dictates that the FIBA should have allowed the democratic process to proceed in the BAP vs. SBP case through a Congress and before the entire FIBA family.

This was what was exactly done by the FIVB when it tackles the volleyball leadership in the Philippines before its Congress. How did this problem come about? It is the same scenario that was instigated by the top official of the Philippine Olympic Committee in the past when it dismissed not only the leadership in the BAP but also more than 20 National Sports Associations (NSAs). He set up new organizations and put in people that he could easily control in the positions of various NSAs that opposed his own leadership.

Good day to all members of the FIVB family.

And for the untainted and respectable members of the FIBA organization, stand up and be counted.

Kindly wake up and face the music that the unilateral and politically-motivated decisions of the Secretariat led by Baumann and Stankovic et. al are unacceptable and are slowly eroding the confidence in the organization due to its tainted image, declining credibility and worse of all, issues of alleged corruption.

Good day to everyone. May the good always be triumphant!

Sincerely,

Graham C. Lim
Secretary General, Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP)
Member, National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC)

Cc: FIVB Regional Office: Dr. Ary S. Graca, FIVB Presidentpresident.office.sec@fivb.org, avc.bk@asianvolleyball.net, info@cavb.org,info@cev.lu, info@voleysur.org, norcecaorgdom@hotmail.com

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Corruption persists in Philippine sports

3/6/2016

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SPECIAL REPORT

‘Corruption persists in Philippine sports’
March 6, 2016 10:21 pm by JOEL M. SY EGCO, SENIOR REPORTER

SOMEWHERE in Asia: IT has been a lonely and uphill battle against perceived corruption in Philippine sports but Graham Lim, whose supposed persecution through the machinations of the powers that be made him flee the country, will not surrender until the sports sector has regained its glory.

“Our sports sector has been badly politicized and monopolized. Since the present leaders of the sports industry took control of the sector in 2005, we saw the deterioration of the quality and conditions of our athletes. Corruption has many faces here.

Billions of pesos are pillaged by a powerful few at the expense of sportsmen. I simply won’t stop exposing them until we regained what was lost,” Lim told The Manila Times in an exclusive interview in an Asian country that has been his “home” for the past three years.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Lim was forced to go on “exile” after he was declared an “undesirable alien” by the Department of Justice three years ago.
The decision was issued allegedly because of the pressure exerted by his powerful rivals — Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) head Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“I have been at odds with both men on a matter of principle. Money and influence-peddling are what they have in abundance. What I only have are my honor and principles, which are priceless and never negotiable,” Lim said.
He was the secretary general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) that Cojuangco delisted from the POC a few years ago.

Pangilinan’s SBP has since taken over BAP’s slot.

“Monopoly is in one way or the other a form of corruption whether in politics and business,” according to Lim, who revealed that a top government official, through an emissary, had asked P6 million from him to “fix” his case.

“I did not yield to the extortion try. Neither did I try to bribe anyone. I said I would rather give my money, if any, to my family than contribute to corruption,” he said.

Lim claimed that the various National Sports Associations (NSAs) are dictated upon by Cojuangco and whoever opposes the former lawmaker is dismissed “by hook or by crook” and replaced by people who “toe his line.”

He said Cojuangco “has a stranglehold on the POC presidency and has tight control over the 28 or so existing NSAs.”

Cojuangco, an uncle of President Beningo Aquino 3rd, has been POC president for the past decade.

His clout grew when he had his golf buddy Ricardo Garcia appointed as chairman of the controversial Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

The agency was recently thrust in the spotlight after it was reported that some P1 billion in casino earnings of First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp. for sports development and withheld from the PSC from January 2012 to June 2015 had been diverted to former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima.

“The PSC is being funded from taxpayers’ money and Filipinos have the right to question whether their money is being used efficiently,” Lim said in reaction to the report.

“There are squid tactics employed by Cojuangco and Pangilinan to control leadership in Philippine sports. Dictatorship is their way of governance. Instead of hearing out diversified views to get a better perspective of issues that divide them, the two would rather suppress them,” he noted.
Incompetent

While sports is not a top priority in the administration of Aquino, Lim said the President should have at least admonished his uncle because of his “incompetent leadership” as POC president since “money spent on national sports development is government money.”

“Philippine sports has been in the doldrums because of the weak leadership of Cojuangco, who until now espouses political patronage and acts like he is the only one who knows everything about sports. Cojuangco has overstayed much too long at the helm,” he added.

“It’s high time that Philippine sports be led by young and idealistic people who have the country in their hearts instead of the current deadwood leadership who only seek to protect their own interests,” Lim said.

A sports insider from one of the NSAs who asked not to be named also questioned the appointment of equestrienne Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski as the country’s representative to the International Olympic Committee.
Cojuangco-Jaworski is the daughter of Cojuangco Jr.

“Her appointment surprised everyone. It came without warning. That’s how powerful they are. They have the POC and the PSC is also under their control,” the source said.

The Philippines has been lagging behind in international sports not only in Asia but also at the Southeast Asian level.
In 2015, the country placed sixth among 11 countries in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

Two years ago, Manila slipped to a record-worst seventh in the SEAG, tailing Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.

Lim recalled that in the 1960s, “Filipino athletes were giving Japan and South Korea a run for their money in the Asian Games.”

“The search for a first-ever gold medal in the Summer Olympics remains elusive while our Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Indonesia have already accomplished the feat many moons ago,” he said.

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UN chief appeals to Indonesia to stop planned executions

4/25/2015

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April 25, 2015 3:04 pm
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. chief is appealing to Indonesia to stop the planned executions of nine foreigners and one local who were convicted for drug crimes.

A statement from Ban Ki-moon's office says the United Nations opposes the death penalty "in all circumstances."

The executions have caused widespread outcry and threats from France, Australia and others of diplomatic consequences.

Ban is calling on President Joko Widodo to "urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition."

Indonesian officials have not said when the executions will take place but have vowed to carry them out. Widodo has said Indonesia is suffering a "drug emergency."

The foreigners are three Nigerian men, two Australian men, a Filipino woman, and one man each from Brazil, Ghana and France.

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Letter to Fujian's Nanan City Government

12/7/2014

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A few old guards, L-R: Mr. Dee, Mr. Lu Lian Jie and the author, Graham Lim

致

福建省南安市委書記、
福建省南安市人民政府市長、
福建省南安市體育总会會長：

您好！

這是我對南安市最負盛名體育賽事 - 鄭成功杯國際籃球邀請賽的點點回憶。

到底鄭成功是誰？鄭成功是中國的民族英雄。早在1700年，或350年前，鄭成功將軍率領軍隊，趕走在當時已佔領台灣的野蠻海盜。

鄭成功出生在福建省南安。直到今天，人們仍然以他的名字命名籃球賽事，來表達對他的尊崇與懷念。

早在1985年當南安仍然是福建省一個小市鎮時，便已舉辦了這比賽。當時廈門機場是進入南安市和通往其他中國境內，無論是北京還是上海的唯一港口。

我的弟弟林劍陵於1985年10月代表菲律賓參加了首屆比賽。由於缺乏資金，我無法陪他參加。

據我弟弟說，我們的團隊受到了熱烈的歡迎，儘管體育場是粘土所建，側庭區灰塵很大，但場內依然人山人海。

有趣的是，我的家祖家就在南安。當時我的奶奶還活著。她在香港定居，但她為了看望孫子林劍陵，她決定返回家鄉住一段時間。

如果我沒記錯的話，我奶奶在1986年初去世。

當我還在香港的時候，我經常探望奶奶。我通常會在她家睡一晚。她還為我做了兩個水煮蛋的糖水作早餐。

到現在為止，我還在想念我的奶奶，有時候感覺好像她還在身邊。對於同樣出生在南安的爺爺和爸爸，我也有同樣的感覺。

1986年，我與球隊前往南安參加第二屆鄭成功國際籃球邀請賽。當時10月份的天氣已經很冷了。因為當時沒有酒店，我們住在一個宿舍裡，而大多數用大理石和粘土建造的房子都很舊。

南安是以大理石著名的。因此，大多數房屋是由大理石建成。甚至連道路也是大理石沙建成。這些全是由南安的普通工人所建造，他們用辛勞來換取他們的糧食。

當時，我是戴良聰教練旗下的球員，戴良聰教練是菲律賓第一位與南安市體育总会會會長呂聯皆先生建立溝通與聯繫的人。呂聯皆是70年代退役的陸軍軍官。

呂聯皆與當時還擔任菲律賓國家女子籃球隊主教練的戴良聰經常接觸。呂聯皆在戴良聰訪問南安的時候，想出了一個計劃，要邀請菲律賓男隊赴南安參加1985年第一屆鄭成功杯。

一年後的這計劃變成了事實。也因為呂聯皆與戴良聰之間的協議，讓我有機會探望我的祖家。

成立於1984年的南安市體育总会，目前大多數元老都已經離開了崗位，或已經過世。據我所知，只有兩個僅存的元老，其中一位就是年屆75歲的呂聯皆。三十年來，對我來說，他一直像是父親般的人物。

在1986年，南安對進口洋酒和香煙的巨大需求。很多人想通過球隊購買這些被帶進口的奢侈品。而我也幸運地在這些交易中賺了一些錢。

許多當地人也願意購買我們的美元，我也順便當了經紀人。

作為一個年輕人，那是我做生意的第一次興奮經歷。

當時在南安吃東西是那麼的便宜。我在路邊餐館吃炒麵，只花了大約一元人民幣。一份炒麵足夠兩個人吃。

這些都是令我難忘的經歷，至今還難以忘懷。我愛我的家鄉，因此多年來我經常回家鄉看望。

至今為止，我都經常回去探望老朋友呂先生，即使他早已退休下崗。

另一位一直支持鄭成功杯的菲律賓人物是戴亞明先生。

戴亞明先生付出他的時間和精力，致力推動菲律賓參與這賽事。

同樣來自南安的戴亞明先生，自上世紀90年代初以來便參與籃球活動。

在菲律賓參與鄭成功杯的大多數比賽中，戴亞明先生都擔起舉足輕重的角色。

在過去八屆杯賽中，我們共贏得了兩屆冠軍，一次在1999年，另一次在2002年再度蟬聯冠軍。

如果沒有戴亞明先生的支持，我們可能不會有機會爭奪冠軍。

我回想起這些事件，部分原因是因為我懷念過去鄭成功杯的比賽中，與來自新加坡、台灣、香港、印尼、澳門、馬來西亞和菲律賓的隊友們所培養起來的感情和友誼。

我彷彿還看到位於鼓浪嶼海邊鄭成功像的雄姿。在沿進入南安的婦路上，甚至從廣州市沿山區公路線上也可以看到這風景。

在廈門市的海邊，鄭成功的氣勢守衛著中國的港口，防範海盜的入侵。

可惜的是，當地政府不再熱衷於讓南安舉辦鄭成功杯了。

在這艱難時期，大家都熱衷於企業、政治、文化娛樂的活動。體育賽事似乎已經被拋在後面。

不過，南安曾因為舉辦過鄭成功杯，在20世紀80年代名振一時。

許多在國外生活的南安祖籍華人，因為這籃球比賽而回到他們的出生地。這促成了不少海外華人衣錦還鄉潮。

最後的一次鄭成功杯籃球邀請賽於2012年5月舉行，我帶了我的妻子和我的孩子們觀看比賽。

我開始覺得，當地的百姓也不再熱衷於觀看比賽了，而只是忙於他們的日常生活。

現在，南安人對待鄭成功的態度令我很擔心和失望。這位300多年前以其軍事成就給這座城市帶來榮譽的不朽英雄，因為要紀念他的豐功偉業而舉辦的體育活動，到今時今日竟然冷漠對待，也沒有人感興趣了。

雖然我出生在菲律賓，但我身上流的是中國人的血液。我愛中國，厭惡我們過去歷史各個王朝不斷遭受到外敵的入侵，國家受到洗劫，直到孫中山先生解放中國。

我衷心地請求南安政府再次組織鄭成功杯，通過體育喚醒民族意識，振興地方鄉親，讓他們記住他們的本土英雄。

海外華人肯定期待以這次活動而再次衣錦還鄉。

願民族主義和愛國主義永存在南安人們心中！

順頌

時祺！

菲律賓籃球協會秘書長/
菲律賓學校體育協會聯合會秘書長/
南安市華僑體育會副會長      林剛陵啟

*****************
Nanan City's Zheng Cheng Gong
By: Graham C. Lim 林剛陵

To:

The Secretary of Nanan City Government, Fujian Province
The Mayor of Nanan City Government, Fujian Province
The Nanan City Sports Council, Fujian Province

From:

Graham Chua Lim
Secretary General, Basketball Association of the Philippines
(BAP or www.baplink.com);
Secretary General, Federation of School Sports Association of the
Philippines (FESSAP or www.fessap.net);

Vice Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Nanan City Sports Council;

Dear Sirs/Madams:

Good day to everyone!

Here’s my recollection of the most prestigious sports event held in Nanan City – the Zheng Cheng Gong Cup International Invitational Basketball Tournament, which has been held biennially or if not every four years.

Who exactly is Zheng Cheng Gong? Zheng is a national hero of China. Back in the 1700s, or 350 years ago, General Zheng led an army to drive away the barbaric Vikings who had occupied Taiwan at the time.

General Zheng Cheng Gong was born in municipality of Nanan (now city), Fujian Province. Until today, he is still being honored by way of a basketball tournament, Zheng Cheng Gong Cup, named after him.

The tournament was introduced in 1985 in Nanan when it was still a small municipality of the Fujian Province. The Xiamen airports has been the port of entry to Nanan municipal and the gateway to everywhere else inside China, whether it be Beijing or Shanghai.

My younger brother McNeil Lim took part in the inaugural tournament in October 1985 and represented the Philippines. Due to financial constraints, I was unable to accompany him.

According to McNeil, our team received a warm welcome and the stadium was jampacked even if it was made of clay and very dusty in the side-court area.

Interestingly, the family’s ancestral home is located in Nanan. At the time, my Grandmother was still alive. She used to live in Hong Kong but decided to return just long enough to see her grandchild, McNeil.

If my memory serves me right, my grandma died in early 1986.

On many occasions, I had visited grandma in Hong Kong when I happen to be there. I usually would sleep for a night in her abode. She would serve breakfast of two boiled eggs in a soup dish marinated with sugar.

Until now, I miss my grandma until today and at times, feel as if she was still around. I feel the same for grandpa and my father, who also were born in Nanan.

In 1986, I was with the team to visit Nanan for the 2nd Zheng Cheng Gong International Invitational Basketball Tournament. It was in October of that year when the weather was cold already. We lived in a dormitory since there was no hotel at the time and most houses were old and made of marble and clay.

Nanan was known for its marble mountains. Thus most houses were made of marble. Even the roads were made of grain marble. They were built by common workers from Nanan who got a decent payment, mostly to buy food, in exchange for their work.

At that time, I was a player under coach Modesto Teh, the first person to communicate and establish contact with Nanan City Sports Council headed by Mr. Lu Lian Jia, a retired Army man during the 1970s.

Lu was in close contact with Teh, who was then the head coach of the Philippine national women’s basketball team. The Nanan visited by Teh gave Lu Lian Jie the opportunity to work out a plan to have a Philippine men’s team to play in Nanan in the 1st Zheng Cheng Gong Cup in 1985.

A year later the plan became a reality. The agreement between Teh and Lu paved the way for my visit to my ancestral home.

At present, most of the old guards of Nanan City Sport Council, which was established in 1984, have already left their posts or have died. From what I know, there are only two surviving old guards and one of them is Mr. Lu Lian Jie, who is now around 75 years old and has been a father figure to me for the past three decades.

In 1986, there was a huge demand for imported wine liquor and cigarettes in Nanan. Many people wanted to buy such expensive items that were brought in by then team. On the side, I made some money out of the trade.

Many also would want to buy our American dollars and I acted as negotiator.

As a young man, it was thrilling to have my first experience with business in my home town China.

Food prices in Nanan were so cheap. I would eat fried noodles at the roadside eatery and it would only coast me around one yuan (or six pesos in Philippine currency today). For one order, the noodles could accommodate two people.

It was a fascinating experience that I cherish until now. I love my home town so much so I have visited it various times through the years.

Until today, I regular visit my old friend, Lu, even if he has long retired as a government employee.

Another personage from the Philippines who has been supportive of the Zheng Cheng Gong Cup is Alvin Tai Lian.

Tai Lian has dedicated his time and effort for the Philippine participation to the games.

Tai Lian, who hails from Nanan City, has been a part of this prestigious basketball event since the early 1990s.

Tai Lian has been the godfather of the Philippines’ participation in most Zheng Cheng Gong Cup tournaments in the past.

Out of eight previous editions, we have been able to win two titles – one in 1999 and the other in 2002 – in back-to-back fashion.

Without the personal support of Tai Lian, we might not have had the opportunity to contend for the championship.

I am recalling these events partly because I missed the friendship and camaraderie that were fostered during past editions of the Zheng Cheng Gong Cup when teams from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia and the Philippines come to play in Nanan.

I still see the glory of the tall stature of Zheng Cheng Gong that is located at the main road, an astonishing scenery that can also be seen in entering Nanan and can also be viewed as far as from a small mountain along the highway in the city of Quanzhou, Fujian province.

From the seaside of Xiamen City, too, an imposing stature of Zheng Cheng Gong guarding the pirates against entering the China seaport can be seen as well.

Sadly, the local government is no longer keen in allowing Nanan to organize the Zheng Cheng Gong cup anymore or has shown little interest in doing so.

Times are hard and focus has been on activities that involve businesses, politics, or cultural entertainments. Sports events seem to have been left behind.

Still, Nanan became well known in the 1980s because of the Zheng Cheng Gong Cup.

Many Chinese living abroad who call Nanan home have returned to their land of birth because of the basketball tournament. It was a homecoming of sorts for the overseas Chinese.

The most recent Zheng Cheng Gong Cup basketball invitational was held in May 2012. At the time, I brought along my wife and my children to watch the event.

I began to feel that ordinary folks there were no longer keen in watching the games anymore and were simply busy with their daily life.

Now, I am really concerned and disappointed with the way the people in Nanan have treated the Zheng Cheng Gong. There is much indifference as no one seems interested anymore in organizing the event that was established to immortalize the man who brought honor to the city with his military successes more than 350 years ago.

Though I was born in the Philippines, there is much Chinese blood in me. I love China and dislike our historical past from one dynasty to another to invasions by foreign countries that ransacked the country’s treasures to the time Dr. Sun Yat-Sen liberated China.

I humbly ask the government of Nanan to organize the Zheng Cheng Gong Cup once more to revitalize the local folks through sports and in a nationalistic sense, make sure they remember their local hero.

Even the overseas Chinese surely look forward to this event as a homecoming of sorts.

May nationalism and patriotism always reign among the people in Nanan!

Graham Chua Lim 林剛陵
303 Escolta Street, Noah’s Ark Building,
Manila, Philippines 1003
E-mail: info.bapink@gmail.com

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Senate defers PSC budget approval

11/20/2014

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November 20, 2014 10:32 pm
by JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA REPORTER

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Thursday failed to persuade the Senate to approve its proposed 2015 budget because of numerous issues facing the commission that require explanation.

It was Sen. Pia Cayetano who moved that the consideration of the budget of the PSC be suspended until officials of the commission explain in detail the issues being raised by various athlete groups.

“I will suggest that we suspend interpellation to give them [PSC] time to put together their data and submit [them] to us,” Cayetano said.

The Philippine Swimming League (PSL) headed by its president Susan Papa appealed to the senators to temporarily suspend the budget proceedings. The PSL has its own successful grassroots development program, the longest running for swimming in the country. Former senator Nikki Coseteng is the group’s honorary chairman.

Papa, in an interview, said training and development of athletes in swimming and other sports suffered because of the PSC’s failure to follow its mandate. The PSC is supposed to have overall say on the sport programs of the government.

But, according to the PSL chairman, PSC officials allowed the commission to be under the command of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the dictates of National Sports Associations (NSAs).

POC is a private, non-government organization composed of all NSAs in the Philippines.

“PSC is a government body [so] how can the POC have control over it? If this kind of situation will continue, our sports development will continue to suffer,” Papa said in an interview with The Manila Times.

She added that the decision of the Senate to defer the approval of the PSC budget is a welcome development because the commission would be forced to provide the chamber a detailed explanation on issues that have been affecting the country’s sports development.

“I’m very happy that the Senate temporarily suspended deliberations on the PSC budget. We will fight for it and we will closely monitor their [PSC] actions. We will no longer tolerate what they are doing and we are no longer scared also,” Papa said.

Among the issues Cayetano wants the PSC to explain include the manner the PSC allocates monetary support given to the NSAs, athletes groups and individual athletes, as well as its method in selecting the sport it is funding.

“We need to know how much is given per NSA and if there are separate fundings given to groups that are not NSAs. We’d like to have a complete list of these and individual athletes,” she said.

The senator noted that she wants a detailed explanation from the PSC because of numerous complaints she received that the commission has made life difficult for the athletes and other groups.

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Philippines Immigration "cancer of corruption" under protection of DOJ, despite changes, it remains the biggest "criminal syndicate"

10/16/2014

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By PetAnderson | Posted October 16, 2014 | Manila, Philippines

In the ongoing fight against corruption in the Philippines government agencies, there has been dramatic exposure by net citizens or "whistleblowers", enough to have 3 famous senators charged, arrested and detained without bail. The 3 senators were suspended from their duties.

In the Philippines Immigration, the most famous "deal maker" Arvin Cesar Santos, ex-chief of legal, was arrested and charged on December 19, 2013 for Graft and Corruption practices, not only got to keep a position in the legal department but also received a promotion to serve directly under the Chief Commissioner Siegfried Mison.

How can ex-chief of legal Arvin Cesar Santos was arrested not less than 9 months ago and charged with Graft and Corruption practices by the Manila prosecutors office on December 19, 2013 for helping a Korean fugitive released from Bicutan, See article http://www.rappler.com/nation/46260-charges-immigration-officials-escape-korean-park
keep a position and get promoted under the most important man in the Philippines Immigration?

There are logically 2 ways, either money or blackmail, lets look at the possible scenarios.

First at money payoffs, it is a well known fact that millions of pesos were passing through the hands of "fixers" to the legal department prosecutors who in turn paid off the chief of legal, Arvin Cesar Santos, who was the buffer for the corrupt commissioners. All these payoffs were for either fixing visa violations or obtaining visas for foreigners.

Bicutan Immigration detention center became a processing factory for foreigners, if the foreigner did not pay the exorbitant amount of extortion money, which ranged from 200,000 php to 10 million php ($5000-$175,000), depending if the foreigner had administrative violation or if they were fugitives from their country. The foreigners could be held for days or up to years, they became commodities, illegally detained until their will was broken and they paid the extortion amount demanded.

If the foreigner did not pay and decided to take the legal recourse, it became a long a grueling process. The legal department first action is to file a charge sheet and detain the foreigner, thus he is caged like a trapped animal. The foreigner will file a "Motion to dismiss charge sheet and Motion for bail". Bail is never given, how can you extort them for large payments if they are free?

The process is as follows:

1. Throw away the first filings by the foreigner, thus have him wait 2-3 months until his lawyer makes inquiries, only to find out that it has gone "missing" despite being stamped and mark received.

2. Refile the same filing and have to wait another 2 months for a reply, which is a definite rejection.

3. Then file a "Motion for Reconsideration", which will be rejected. After another 2-6 months a summary deportation order is issued.

4. Then a "Motion for Reconsideration" must be filed, which could take another 2-6 months to get an answer, if at this point the foreigner does not pay the extortion money, it will be rejected.

5. The foreigner has the option to file an Appeal Memorandum before the Department of Justice or the Office of the President.

6.If the foreigner goes before the Philippines DOJ, he will then face the corrupt Chief Counsels and prosecutors who handle Immigration cases and is coordinating with the corrupt immigration legal staff.

7. Again the foreigner will face extortion by the DOJ prosecutors to quickly resolve the appeals in a short period of time or it will be rejected.

8. If the foreigner does not pay, the appeal process will face delays negligently beyond the 3 month time period to resolve, it could be delayed for 12-15 months.

9. Once a rejection of the appeal has been decided, the foreigner must file a "Motion for Reconsideration" , which will take 6-10 months to decide, obviously negative. The DOJ will then send back to the Immigration commissioner Siegfried Mison "for comments", once again you will be approached to pay extortion money in order to get a positive comment.

10. Once the MTR is decided, then the foreigner can file an appeal with the Court of Appeals, which will take 6-12 months.

This whole process could take 24-36 months, while the foreigner is kept locked up. No bail is given, the reason is to pressure the foreigner into paying the extortion money.

Bicutan immigration detention center is a holding facility for victims of extortion. Most victims are Chinese, Koreans, Indians and Europeans. The foreigners with money.

Philippines Immigration Commissioner Siegfried Mison and now promoted OIC Arvin Cesar Santos have a long history. Hundreds of dirty deals have been made and millions of pesos has changed hands, extorting foreigners, approving visas, releasing child rapists and anything that needed fixing. http://shamelessimmigration.blogspot.gr/2014/02/immigration-commissioner-chief-siegfred.html?m=1

When Arvin Cesar Santos was arrested and charged with Graft and Corruption just 9 months ago, he was not suspended for helping a Korean fugitive escape and also issued him an employment visa, he was promoted by BI Chief Siegfried Mison. Why? 2 main reasons.

1) Money - If Arvin Cesar Santos was suspended or transferred out of the legal department, then Siegfried Mison had no one he could trust to make his deals. Who would be the buffer? His dirty money would finish!

2) Blackmail- If Arvin Cesar Santos is to take all the blame, then he will take down Siegfed Mison with him. Partners in crime! See articles posted:

"BI Ex-chief of legal, Arvin Cesar Santos in fear of his life, tells all about corrupt DOJ prosecutors and immigration legal department"
http://shamelessimmigration.blogspot.com/2014/02/bi-ex-chief-of-legal-arvin-cesar-santos.html

"Immigration ex-chief of legal Arvin Santos tells all, Siegfred Mison knew everything that was going on, he was neck deep”
http://shamelessimmigration.blogspot.com/2014/02/immigration-ex-chief-of-legal-arvin.html

"Philippines Immigration Chief Siegfred Mison is neck deep in illegal activity within Bureau of Immigration"
http://shamelessimmigration.blogspot.com/2014/02/philippines-immigration-chief-siegfred.html

The Department of Justice which is headed by Leila De Lima is the agency that oversees the Philippines Bureau of Immigration. So why does the DOJ not take action? Simple answer, Leila De Lima and Siegfried Mison go back a long way to law school, they are close friends. How can 1 friend discipline another? This is a criminal syndicate, if one goes down, so does the other.

Leila De Lima knew what Siegfried Mison was doing, all his dirty deals, but she turned a blind eye and deaf ears in order to recommend him as Chief Commissioner. How can she oversee the Bureau of Immigration when her own agency is over ridden with corruption and deal making prosecutors?

The Foreigners for Justice group has uncovered and provided evidence of extortion, payoffs, bribery, violence, drug dealing, human rights and legal due process violations by the Philippines Immigration headed by Siegfried Mison, yet only 1 person has been arrested and charged, Arvin Cesar Santos, and his punishment is to be promoted?

Webpages, blogs, media have all exposed corruption in the DOJ and Immigration, even the President calls them a "criminal syndicate" but not 1 official has been convicted and the same criminals are in the same positions or get promoted.

http://www.philippinesimmigration.info/
http://www.foreign-assistance-center.com

There are thousands of websites and blogs written about the corruption in the Philippines Immigration, just Google Philippines Immigration Corruption, it will give you years of reading.

How can such a "criminal syndicate" operate for such a long period of time? They lock up and detain pregnant women, children, handicapped, elderly, foreigners and extort them in order for a release.

Remember Bicutan Immigration Detention center is supposed to be a temporary administrative holding facility, why are foreigners being held on an average of 6 years? There are foreigners that are being held for 7, 9, 11, 14 years in Bicutan.

Despite criminal complaints filed with Commission of Human Rights, Philippines Ombudsman, DOJ, Senators, Office of President, Manila Prosecutors office and many other agencies, nothing is being done.

The only way to clean up this "cancer of corruption" is mandatory early retirement for the entire legal staff including the Board of Commissioners. Replace with younger, in-corrupt staff that will look for a better Philippines, one that looks for the future not for their pockets, looks for humanity and legal due process, not their pockets.

Hopefully the next president will be serious of cutting the corruption cancer out and replace with new, its the only solution.

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FIBA: Change the Family Corporation-like Secretariat

8/27/2014

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By: Graham C. Lim, Secretary General of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP); and National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) member since 1989.

I shall start my journalistic work with a word of caution for the next FIBA president. Beware if you are being pressured to sign the renewal contract of an incompetent employee by the name of Patrick Baumann to remain as the FIBA secretary general for another 12 years despite his current tenure being plagued by incompetence, racial discrimination and corruption.

How can Baumann be rewarded with another long term of employment when past experience show he could not even manage a national basketball federation with any credibility and integrity.

Word is that Baumann will be hard-pressed to get his renewal contract from the next FIBA President which, through a rotation system, will come from the FIBA Americas (a lady?).

The shadowy figure behind Patrick Baumann’s re-election bid is former secretary general Borislav Stankovic, who the FIBA family named as secretary general emeritus in the past.

On the outside, Stankovic’s appointment to the honorary position would appear to be a courteous gesture, if not a reward for past services he rendered.

But on the inside, it would seem that Stankovic did not desire a graceful exit but instead wanted to remain in the FIBA Secretariat so he could continue to enjoy the financial benefits that come from an organization that is raking millions and millions of dollars of revenues worldwide.

For the record, it was Stankovic himself that was responsible for Baumann’s original 12-year appointment as FIBA secretary general.

So long as Baumann is around, Stankovic stands to rake in more money from the humongous FIBA coffers. Stankovic has put in his dummy, Baumann, to protect his own selfish interests.

The two have been running the FIBA hierarchy like it was a family corporation or a Mafia entity. It is dictatorship, in fact and in form, as only people from their inner circle can rule with impunity. Baumann knows fully well he is under the command of Stankovic and the FIBA Secretariatcannot act on its own without
the approval of the latter.

To the duo, decisions on major issues that involve marketing, only need the official stamp of Stankovic, and never mind the FIBA Central Board.

The FIBA is being run by people with Mafiosi characteristics, which perhaps may be even much worse than a country governed by the communists, with due respect to the principled communists. And why is it worsts than a communists-run government?

In some of them, the government is run by the General Secretary of the Poliburo, who, in turn, is elected President for a term of five years and cannot be in power for more than two terms. Generally, he works for the welfare of the state and its people.

In contrast, the FIBA Secretariat is run incompetently by a contracted employee like Baumann to act as the secretary general whose job is to protect only the interests of some shady people in the hierarchy, and run it like a family corporation.

No decent people from the various national basketball federations of the world can ascend to power without the support of a few evil men like Stankovic and
Baumann.

Why do they stick to power like a leech? That’s because there’s a lot of money in the FIBA that does not go directly to the organization but rather to the pockets of the Secretariat.

The money coming from marketing, sponsorships and television rights is
enormous.

But the Secretariat gets the bulk of the financial pie through ingenious accounting and conspiracy with other corrupt personages within the
"family."

Greed is their game, and tyrannny is their means of governance.

And as the saying goes, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Now comes the forthcoming FIBA World Congress, where the devilish masters of the family corporationare calling the shots during the August 27-28 meeting in Spain, which is just days before the staging of the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup (formerly known as the World Basketball Championship) there.

Rumors have it that Finland, which is only ranked 39th in the world, got one of the four "wildcard" berths to the 24-nation World Cup for its ability to prop up the FIBA coffers and make people like Stankovic and Baumann rich and happy.

The presidents of the various national basketball federations from the world will come together to attend the FIBA World Congress in Spain.

However, it is likely that only the voices of Baumann, Stankovic and Bob Elphinston, the former FIBA president who has returned as the president of FIBA Oceania, will probably be heard.

The NBF representatives will be aplenty but only to listen in silence. In a show of force, the word of Baumann and company is final and executory!

Baumann and Stankovic will come in like knights in the shinning armors. The two are expected to paint a rosy picture in their State of the FIBA Address and claim another mandate.

The declaration, of course, is far from the truth as the FIBA has fallen on hard times in terms of credibility and integrity through the years. It is tainted with alleged corruption by the higher-ups.

One U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) owner, Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, recently accused of the FIBA of only making money out of its
professional players, making them believe that participation in FIBA
competitions is an act of patriotism and national pride for their countries when
the games are really all about money directed solely to the FIBA coffers without any financial responsibility to the players and the NBA teams they are employed in.

Additionally, the FIBA Secretariat has wantonly dipped its hands in the internal affairs of the national basketball federations such as the one in the Philippines when the tradition-steeped Basketball Association of the Philippines
(BAP), which had been a member of the FIBA family since 1936, was illegally dismissed in favor of the fledgling and money-driven Samanhang Basketbol ng Pilipinas(SBP) in a treacherous and conspiracy move.

Do we allow this to happen to the national basketball federations of other countries as well?

The Japan Basketball Association (JBA) is Baumann's target.

Baumann has started to meddle in the internal affairs of the JBA, dictating to the traditional Japanese executives on how the national basketball federation should be run their activities.

Why the interest of Baumann?

That's because Baumann smelling some good fortune in his bid to enter the
marketing aspect of the JBA.

Word is that Baumann is already advising his dummy FIBA marketing group to get in touch with a major Japanese corporation and seek its approval for a joint venture with the FIBA ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

The callous and boorish manner of Bauman, who has never been involved in his own national basketball federation and was an incompetent referee before FIBA's Family Corporation hired him to do some dirty jobs, is despicable.

Baumann has acted like a puppet and is being pulled (and fooled around) by the strings of his master, the Fu Manchu-like Stankovic.

Is this the Baumann you all want to hold office for another 12 years? God forbid if another disaster is forthcoming.

Major decisions are unilaterally decided upon by the powers-that-be with vested interests.

Dictatorship has no place in a free society, not even in FIBA.

The choice of the next FIBA president is in your hands. He must be elected
through a consensus vote and not simply dictated upon by Baumann and
Stankovic.

Steadfastly we must act and commit to a wholesale overhaul of the FIBA leadership, specifically the Secretariat.

The FIBA should be run democratically, where even the whispers of the smallest member federations could be heard. Let us act now if we do not want the FIBA to be thrown into the dustbin of history as an incompetent and corrupt organization.

Its legacy is at stake in the forthcoming elections.

We must cleanse the organization of the rotten eggs if only to restore the FIBA to its old glorious and respected stature.

The FIBA’s survival rests on the hands of the good majority and not of the powerful and corrupt few in a free and democratic society, the majority wins – and rules. (GCL)

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