Stern ordered the use of the microfiber composite ball starting this season. The switch caught a lot of players by surprise although the ball had been used in the last two All-Star Weekends and tested in summer action and the National Basketball Development League.
There was widespread speculation that Spalding paid the NBA hefty sum for the switch, regarded as a marketing tactic to arrest the growing global popularity of rival Molten’s 12-panel ball which is endorsed by FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball) for the Olympics and World Championships.
When Stern announced the switch before the season began, he was accompanied by Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce who is Spalding’s chief endorser for the "infusion" ball with the built-in air pump. Stern said the synthetic ball is easier to grip and provides a "truer" bounce.
Another point favoring the switch was the consistency of the new ball. In contrast, no two leather balls are alike and Stern said referees go through a rack of leather balls to select the best one to use for a game. Stern insisted it was an improvement from the leather ball.
But Stern had difficulty convincing the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen to accept the ball. O’Neal said it "feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store." Nash complained that handling the ball led to paper-cut like abrasions on his fingers because of the synthetic surface. He said it "beats up my fingers." There was also an unusually high incidence of wedging where the ball gets stuck in between the back rim and the backboard.
The promised "truer" bounce didn’t happen. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban contracted the University of Texas at Arlington physics department to test the ball and the experiment disclosed that when dropped from a height of five feet, it bounced an average of four inches lower than the old leather model. The department also said the composite ball is slower to absorb moisture than the leather ball.
Last Dec. 1, the union filed a grievance before the Board, charging the NBA of not gathering sufficient player input in deciding the switch. Rather than argue against the union, Stern gave in and announced the return of the leather ball starting Jan. 1.
"Our players response to this particular composite ball has been overwhelmingly negative and we are acting accordingly," said Stern. "Although testing performed by Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather and statistically, there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players."
Pierce didn’t object to the reversion despite endorsing the first switch. "It was just tough on players because I think the NBA kind of just sprung the ball on the players instead of giving them fair warning," said Pierce. "When you’re playing with something for so long and then it’s time for change, it’s hard to accept."
It’s not certain if the reversion will mean a review of the NBA’s contract with Spalding, the first company to produce a basketball for official use and the league’s ball provider since 1983.
Molten got the jump on Spalding when it introduced the revolutionary 12-panel fine grain leather basketball with dual-cushion technology (high-density cushioning foam below the surface and special soft rubber seams) and a flatter pebbled finish for increased contact area two years ago. It became the ball of choice in Europe, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Australia and all FIBA-sanctioned tournaments.
Demand for the Molten ball exceeded expectations and the Hiroshima head office was swamped by orders from all over the world.
Spalding’s desperate attempt to regain its slipping market share came in the form of the microfiber composite ball which is less costly to produce than the leather ball. The NBA’s endorsement carried a hefty price so that the composite ball was even costlier (about $30 more) than the Molten in the open market.
The reversion, however, is a major setback for Spalding and a vindication of the Molten model which NBA players used and seemed to like at the last World Championships in Saitama.
Anil Buxani, whose company KB Impex distributes Molten in the country, said there’s no better ball in the market today than the 12-panel leather version.
Buxani said the local demand for the Molten balls is extremely high but through his father Kay Sham, has been guaranteed by the Hiroshima head office that there will always be stock in inventory and on the shelves.
"There’s no substitute for the Molten 12-panel leather ball," said Buxani. "I’m sure Wade liked the feel of the ball at the World Championships and therefore had a basis of comparison when the composite ball was introduced in the NBA."
Buxani said another hot seller in his product line is the Asics kinsei running shoe which retails for about P10,000.
"We brought in 1,200 pairs from Japan and in less than two weeks, we were sold out," said Buxani. "It has new technology and a handsome look. We’ve got about 30 pairs that just came in and I’m sure they’ll be gone in a few days."
Buxani said Asics indoor court shoes for badminton, volleyball and squash are also selling like hotcakes.
"We’ve got the fall season shoes out in the market now," said Buxani. "We’ve brought in the Japanese shoes, not the international shoes, because the Japanese shoes are clearly superior and more adaptable. That’s because Asics makes it a priority to make the best shoes for the Japanese market. Luckily, we’ve got access to the shoes in the Japanese market and we’ve brought them to the Philippines."
Buxani’s father Kay Sham has been involved in the sports business here for over 40 years. Today, Sham spends half the year living here and the other half in Punjab, Northern India, supervising 80 countries where there are Science of the Soul centers as the overseas director of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Buxani himself is the Philippine coordinator of eight centers in the country, the biggest of which is in Alabang.
Buxani said Science of the Soul is not a religion but a way of life, a philosophy. It is dedicated to a science of inner development under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. Fundamental to the teachings are adherence to a vegetarian diet, abstinence from intoxicants, a moral way of life and the practice of daily two-hour solitary meditation.
"Every Sunday, we have an English service in Alabang from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. and a Hindi service from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.," said Buxani. "We share words of wisdom from various sources, including the Bible. Even Catholic monsignors came to our service which is ecumenical. Those who attend our service just want to be better persons and practice honest living."