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THE
much-anticipated announcement of a new commissioner of
the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has been
moved to January 17.
This is because league chairman
Tony Chua has to leave for
Hong Kong this morning to attend to a pressing matter.
And that means the league governors will
have another week to ponder on the two remaining
choices—lawyer Chito Salud or marketing man Lambert
Ramos. Salud is said to be enjoying a slim 5-4 edge over
his rival.
PBA officer in charge Sonny Barrios said the next full
week would be the key to the impasse that has kept
Filipino basketball fans waiting.
“Itong extra week na ito, may kutob ako
na magkakasundo na ang board. Knowing them, they are
talking [about] this matter very seriously and they know
the importance of having a commissioner at this point in
time,” Barrios told the BusinessMirror yesterday.
The executive committee met Tuesday
night to find a solution to the almost monthlong
standoff. The governors, however, opted to stick to
their original votes.
In their December 17 meeting, the board
failed to reach a consensus after three sets of voting.
Salud reportedly got five votes from Magnolia, Ginebra,
Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Welcoat while Ramos had the nod
of Air21, Alaska, Talk ’N Text and Sta. Lucia.
The partition of votes stayed the same,
according to multiple sources, although there were also
conflicting reports that Ramos had the edge.
Still, regardless of who has the lead
right now, Barrios said he is confident that a new
commissioner will be named on January 17.
“Even the team owners are now involved
in finding the solution kaya sa tingin ko wala nang
stalemate next week,” said Barrios. “They are very much
eager to end this standoff because they don’t want to
[harden] the position.”
The board actually mulled amending the
rules just to get over with the matter. One board member
even suggested to throw in a new name if they still
cannot break the standoff.
“It’s the prerogative of the board kung
paano nila sosolusyunan ito. The board can change the
commissioner anytime they want dahil wala namang fixed
contract and commissioner,” Barrios explained.
The other possibility is to hire another
officer in charge of the league as Barrios clearly
stated that he’s not inclined to handle the league for
another conference.
“Maganda talaga na kasama ko na ang new
commissioner as we plan kung ano pang dapat gawin sa
liga. Mahirap ’yung nabibitin at bibitawan mo na lang
bigla sa bagong commissioner ang mga bagay-bagay like
the issue on the new television coveror,” said Barrios. |
