Board backs Eala, forms task force

While the PBA board of governors reiterated its full support to PBA commissioner Noli Eala’s anti-drug program, the body decided to form a task force to further strengthen the campaign against illegal drug use in the league.

"The board reiterates its full, unwavering support to the anti-drug campaign of the PBA," said board chairman Jun Cabalan of Barangay Ginebra.

"If there were questions that led to the thinking that we have wavered in our drive to support this program, those were not true and our statement should put the matter to rest," he added.

And to further enhance the league’s anti-drug drive, the board has formed a six-man task force composed of representatives from Talk N Text, Alaska, Batang Red Bull and Shell and technical committee chief Perry Martinez and league physician Ben Salud.

"The duties of this task force is basically to find more ways in further strengthening the PBA’s anti-drug policy. We believe in this program strongly but we concede that everything has room for improvement," said Cabalan.

All but one attended the board meeting, which included Manny Mendoza of Batang Red Bull, whose team openly questioned the procedures being taken by the Commissioner’s Office in the program.

Eala, for his part, encouraged all the players tested positive for illegal substance to appeal their respective cases after being suspended indefinitely.

But Eala clarified that the suspended cagers can avail themselves of the re-testing process using the same urine sample found to have contained illegal substance.

So far, not one of the six players tested positive — San Miguel’s Dorian Peña, Barangay Ginebra’s Jun Limpot, Talk N Text’s Long David and Noli Locsin, Batang Red Bull’s Davonn Harp and FedEx’s Ryan Bernardo — has yet to request for a re-test.

The board was likewise briefed by representative from the Philippine National Police crime laboratory and the Department of Health with regard to the drug-testing procedure.