Cebu Gems team manager Danny Francisco is a straight shooter. That's why he's well-respected in basketball circles. Talk to him straight and he'll talk to you straight.
When he played for Ateneo several years ago, Danny was hailed as the future Ramon Fernandez. A congenital heart problem prevented Danny from pursuing a professional career. He would've been a superstar for sure -- he had the looks, the attitude, the upbringing, and of course, the talent to excel.
Today, Danny calls the shots in the Gems front office. He also broadcasts Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) games and is widely known for his insightful analysis. Basketball's in his blood and the game is better for it.
The other day, I bumped into Danny and talked to him about the Gems who went to the MBA Finals last season.
I asked him if Fil-Am guard Kenny Evans of San Francisco State was sure to play for Cebu. Danny said Evans is arriving today. He went to the US last December on a backbreaking 6-day trip to scout Fil-Ams and said he's hoping Evans will play a big role for the Gems this season.
Evans' agent Bobby Rius earlier confirmed the six-foot guard had inked a one-year contract to play for the Gems.
As for star guard Dondon Hontiveros, Danny clarified he hasn't been suspended. But he admitted Hontiveros was told by coach Tonichi Yturri not to report for practice "to think things over."
Francisco said he's waiting for Hontiveros and his agent to talk to the Gems management.
"We're at a loss," sighed Francisco. "Dondon missed several practices --that's why Tonichi told him to think things over. We'd like to find out what he wants. We'd like to talk to his agent but we don't know where he is. After all, Dondon and his agent signed a contract with us. If Dondon wants to renegotiate his contract, we'd like to find out his terms. We're wondering why he hasn't told us anything."
Francisco stressed that Hontiveros' contract has two years left before expiring. "Dondon's a pro and he's got a live contract so we expect him to abide by it," he continued. "But we'd still like to know what`s on his mind. We read in the papers Dondon mentioned if he continues to play with us, he'll play halfheartedly. We're concerned about that statement."
Francisco said if Hontiveros wants out, the Gems management would like to hear it from him.
"Dondon's not talking to us," added Francisco. "We need to talk. We don't know what to do. We don't want to keep a player who doesn't want to play for us. But we don't want a player to hold us hostage. It's just not right."
In a way, Hontiveros' situation is similar to Marlou Aquino's.
Sta. Lucia Realty holds Aquino's signing rights but can't make headway in inking the 6-9 Skyscraper to a contract because he isn't talking to management. In Hontiveros' case, he`s got a live contract but appears to want out of it. He isn't talking to management either.
Both Aquino and Hontiveros should realize that team officials aren't ogres-they're not unreasonable. Francisco and Sta. Lucia's Buddy Encarnado certainly aren't. They listen to reason.
If Aquino bares his soul to Encarnado and Hontiveros does the same to Francisco, I'm sure only good will come out of it. The ball is in their hands.