MANILA---Renauld “Sonny” Barrios gets his first major challenge as executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas when the country hosts the Fiba Asia Champions Cup next month. “The name of the country is at stake here so we have to make sure that every thing runs smoothly,” said Barrios, the former PBA commissioner, who was appointed by SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan last Tuesday.
The international event hopes to showcase how far the Smart Gilas Pilipinas team has gone in its determined bid to secure an Olympic slot next year through a victory in the Fiba Asia Championship in Wuhan, China this September.
But while the men’s team is his main responsibility, Barrios said he’s leaving the training and technical side of preparing the Gilas squad to head coach Rajko Toroman.
Barrios had worked closely with the SBP when a PBA selection competed in the 2009 Fiba Asia Championship in Tianjin.
“If you noticed the way I handled the national team, I left the technical aspect of preparing the team to the head coach,” said Barrios, who took over from another former PBA commissioner, Noli Eala, who resigned last month.
Barrios was with the PBA for over 20 years, assuming the posts of executive director, deputy commissioner, and eventually commissioner, before stepping down last year to attend to family business in the United States.
June Navarro, Inquirer.net
