By Cedelf P. Tupas

The Philippine Basketball Association is exploring the possibility of inviting an Australian club squad to test the progress of the all-pro national team, which is preparing for the Seaba championships in April.

PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios Tuesday night bared this scenario to national coach Yeng Guiao, who had expressed concern over the lack of tune-up matches for his team before the tournament that serves as a qualifier to the Asian championship.

Guiao said the PBA is eyeing two to three games with an Australian team “probably in March.”

“We still don’t know which team from Australia,” Guiao told the Philippine Daily Inquirer over the phone. “But commissioner Barrios is scheduling the games in dates when the PBA is not that busy.”

Except for the PBA All-Star Week when the national team plays against the PBA All-Stars, Guiao’s squad will have no other tune-up games before it plunges into action in the Seaba Championships from April 2 to 6.

“We don’t want to be overconfident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Guiao said he is not giving up on persuading Purefoods forward Kerby Raymundo to continue his stint with the RP Team.

“We’re not even giving Kerby a time frame to think,” Guiao said of Raymundo, who had expressed apprehensions on continuing his stint with the RP Team, citing a conflict in schedule with his ballclub. “We want him to relax first and when he is no longer tired, maybe he can think about it.”


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