PBA set to amend salary cap rules

In an effort to avoid a repeat of Tanduay’s "mind-boggling" offer to Danny Ildefonso and make the salaries of its players attuned to the times, the Philippine Basketball Association is set to amend its rules on salary cap that might also include perks and bonuses.

A source said PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino has started to look into options that would help curb the flow of bigger and richer playing deals in the future which, many fear, may eventually shake the very foundation of the league.

In fact, the same source added, the PBA chief is fast-tracking the draft of the amendments, zeroing in on the bonus schemes and incentives, in time for the next PBA board meeting on Feb. 26.

Tanduay, in a bid to lure the 24-year-old Ildefonso into its fold, dangled a tempting P96 million offer spread over 16 years.

The PBA, after putting into close scrutiny the lucrative items in the offer sheet, later ruled the Tanduay offer as "flawed," branding the bonus scheme as "pretty disturbing."

However, Tanduay, realizing the futility of its bid, decided to give up on Ildefonso, enabling the San Miguel Beermen to keep their prized slotman.

The source said Bernardino is seriously considering amending the bonus schemes and incentives, which almost always give the teams the chance to go around the individual salary cap.

This Bernardino questioned in the Ildefonso offer, which if added to the supposed basic salary of the cager, will reach hundreds of millions during the life of the contract.

The commissioner cited the additional bonuses Ildefonso could get if he landed in the Top 10 of the rebounding, scoring, blocks and "Most Defensive Player" in a single conference. He said these awards in a conference are non-existent.

In the Tanduay offer sheet, Ildefonso is supposed to receive P50,000 per won game in the eliminations; P60,000 in the semifinals and P70,000 in the Finals.

If Tanduay wins all games, Ildefonso would make P12,505,400 in the All-Filipino alone, exactly 86 percent of the allowable P14.520 million which one team can give as bonuses to its players per conference. His 11 or so teammates will have to settle for the remainder, which is only P2,014,600.