Last Tuesday, the entire PBL, almost to a man, gathered in force at its Makati Coliseum base to protest against the Games and Amusements Board ruling that its players are professional. This ruling, in turn, prompted the UAAP to join the NCAA in keeping its players away from the PBL, which opens its new season on November 3. As a temporary adjustment, the PBL planned on beginning with just six teams, as the Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle University teams were kept in limbo.
When asked what they would do if made to choose between playing in the PBL and retaining their NCAA or UAAP eligibility, the players themselves were naturally divided. Melvin Mamaclay of Adamson, for example, said that he preferred staying in the PBL, because the allowances were a great help in easing the financial burden on his family in the province. Willy Wilson of the UAAP champion Green Archers, for his part, declared he would rather play for La Salle, since education was his priority.
"This is precisely what we don’t want, for the players to choose," said league commissioner Chino Trinidad, who was nevertheless proud of the unity displayed by his players. "But I’m very happy with this turn of events. We’ve weathered many storms. But since I came into the PBL, I’ve always taught the players the value of family. Even if a storm blows the roof off your house, if your family is together, you can weather any storm."
Apparently, this imbroglio started out as a turf war between the Basketball Association of the Philippines and the PBL back in 1999, when both launched a women’s basketball league. Since the PBL refused to be under the BAP, the BAP wanted to determine which governing body the league should be under. This pulled in the GAB, which inevitably ruled that the PBL was professional since players received compensation.
Trinidad argues that the contracts, on the contrary, protect the players, and revealed that the players continue to receive their allowances even when the PBL is on hiatus during college basketball season.
"There is no exclusivity in putting up a basketball league in this country," Trinidad adds. "I have yet to see any legal basis requiring us to be under either the BAP or the GAB."
The PBL’s latest maneuver, pending a resolution of the issue by Malacañang, is to request the GAB to consider UAAP and NCAA varsity players "guest players," the precedent being the appearance of past national teams in PBA competition without sanction.
However, the league also hinted at a grander conspiracy. Because of the financial and ratings success of the last UAAP finals, an unnamed but powerful group is allegedly planning to put up a large-scale college basketball tournament that will unify the UAAP and NCAA and possibly other leagues beyond the current first-semester schedule. If this is true, then that group will naturally want to have the players all to itself, and will try to extract its players from the PBL, its lone rival for talent.
Think about it: the UAAP has proven the formula works. The NCAA is looking for a group to promote them and give them the television exposure they have been lacking the past few years. And with the proven formula of the MBA and the PBL’s own Vis-Min Cup, a truly nationwide umbrella tournament for basketball is extremely enticing. And it will bring in big bucks. Alumni support from the corporate world alone guarantees success. Whoever wants to pull this off only has to assure that they will have the players all year round. That means eliminating the PBL.
Whatever happens in the next few days, the PBL will launch on November 3. Whether they play with a six- or eight-team roster is one question. Whether or not this alleged shadow group after will reveal itself is another.