THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) board of governors has unanimously agreed to review—and reorganize—the structure of the PBA as it conducts a search for a “professional” to help draft the criteria for the next commissioner.
In a media briefing, PBA Chairman Patrick Gregorio said the board has decided to add a fourth member in the search committee during its regular meeting on Thursday at the PBA headquarters in Libis, Quezon City.
“The [board] as a group decided that we will invite an independent person, a professional, to be part of the search committee. And we are doing this for the first time to professionalize the search,” Gregorio said.
Gregorio, who represents Talk ‘N Text, is a member of the search committee that will draft the parameters for the successor of Commissioner Chito Salud, who announced that he is stepping down after five seasons with the league.
Also working with Gregorio in the “committee” are Purefoods’s Rene Pardo and Rain or Shine’s Mamerto Mondragon.
Gregorio said the fourth member of the search committee “should not be part of the PBA community.”
Gregorio said the board will resume discussion on the fourth member of the search committee after the All-Star Weekend. But he stressed the board wants to fast-track the review and reorganization of the league so everything will be in place when the next commissioner is named.
Meralco, meanwhile, tries to bounce back to stay on top of the standing against an NLEX side riding the crest of consecutive upset victories in a clash of sister teams at the resumption of the Commissioner’s Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Bolts (5-1) and the Road Warriors (2-4) face off at 7 p.m., right after the opening game featuring Barako Bull (4-2) and Rain or Shine (4-2) at 4:15 p.m.
Meralco absorbed its first loss last Saturday in Cagayan de Oro City after starting the tournament with five straight wins, yielding a 102-86 decision to San Miguel Beer mainly due to the loss of import Josh Davis late in the first half because of a bad fall.
The Road Warriors of Head Coach Boyet Fernandez, on the other hand, revived their quarterfinals bid with a come-from-behind 100-93 upset of the Beermen, where they clawed back from 21 points down.