With three weeks left before the battle begins in the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship, Lebanon has mysteriously begged off from competing in the MVP Cup slated on Sept. 11 to 13 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Much to the dismay of Sports5 head and former national team head coach Chot Reyes, the MVP Cup is now left with three teams, though Reyes hinted in a tweet that they have a replacement team in the works.
“Lebanon national team backs out after officially confirming participation in the MVP Cup. Stay tuned for the replacement team,” said Reyes on his Twitter account.
The four-nation MVP Cup was organized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) with the goal of sharpening the skills of the country’s national team – the Gilas Pilipinas – further before the Fiba Asia competition, a qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Aside from the Gilas and Lebanon, also in the MVP Cup are Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand.