Maximum tolerance

In the PBA, the new officiating philosophy of “no advantage, no foul” is bringing excitement back to the game with the referees blowing their whistles only if a player is “displaced, dislodged or dispossessed.”

While it’s exciting, the rule of maximum tolerance has led to some players testing the referees’ threshold in so far as the extent they’ll be allowed to go physical before a foul is called. That’s expected. Whenever a new rule is installed, there will be a feeling-out period where players and referees make adjustments to fit their styles. 

The feeling-out period can be painful – in the case of the “no advantage, no foul” system, literally and figuratively – as players will push things to the boundary of tolerable physicality. Call it growing pains, evident in the first few games of the Philippine Cup. But things should smooth out in the process. 

The idea behind the “no advantage, no foul” system is to familiarize PBA players and future national cagers with the way the game is played under FIBA rules. In the recent FIBA-Asia Olympic qualifiers in Tokushima, PBA stars wearing the national colors had difficulty adjusting to FIBA rules some of which are different from PBA or pro rules. Even NBA veterans admit playing under FIBA rules, which allow more physical play, is a completely different experience.

If you ask the fans, they’ll tell you the change is more than welcome. It makes for a more free-flowing game without referees interrupting the play to make ticky-tacky calls. Basketball is a contact sport and it’s not a game for crybabies or whiners. The PBA is a serious league where players are paid serious money to play serious basketball, which, by the way, is serious business. Players must be in tip-top shape to survive the wars on the court. 

The new orientation won’t turn the players into gladiators for blood-thirsty fans. Rather, it’ll turn them into players with more conviction to be ready for action, prepared for a hard battle and determined to push themselves to the hilt. Players who like to go through the motions will be run off the floor. Now, they’ve got to earn their keep playing serious basketball. Nobody ever said making a living in sports was easy.

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This season, the PBA listed 24 rookies and 18 veterans switching uniforms in opening-day rosters. With only 10 teams in the fold and limited playing slots, the competition for jobs has become increasingly intense as younger, bigger, hungrier and tougher players are showing up for tryouts.

As a result, veterans like Jun Limpot, Vic Pablo, Jimwell Torion, Will Antonio, Don Camaso, Arnold Gamboa, Dale Singson and Andy Seigle were left out in the cold in the fight for playing slots. They were, in effect, displaced, dislodged and dispossessed.

Last year, 20 of 47 rookie applicants were drafted. One of them – Ollan Omiping – didn’t even get to play. And among the 19 who played, seven are no longer in the league – Boyet Bautista, Abby Santos, R. J. Rizada, Mark Magsumbol, Chris Pacana, Mike Gavino and Christian Luanzon.

Curiously, five undrafted players from the 2006 batch are now in the PBA as rookies – Purefoods’ Robert Sanz and Chico Lanete, Welcoat’s Don Dulay and Sta. Lucia Realty’s Philip Butel and Dennis Daa.

Sanz, 25, is 6-3 forward from PCU. Lanete, 28, is from UE and is an eight-year PBL veteran. Dulay, 27, is a 5-8, US-born guard from Carson City High and El Camino College. His parents Isidro and Filomena are full-blooded Filipinos. Butel, 27, is a 6-7 forward from UE with extensive experience in the PBL, NBC, MVBA, PICAA and URBL. Daa, 28, is from San Jose Recoletos-Cebu and Las Piñas College.

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This year, 17 of 44 applicants were drafted and only two were not in opening-day lineups – R. J. Masbang and Jojo Duncil. But three undrafted cagers made it – Air21’s Chris Baluyot, Talk ’N’ Text’s Francis Barcellano and Barangay Ginebra’s J. R. Aquino.

Baluyot, 26, is a 6-3 guard from San Sebastian. Barcellano, 24, is a 6-5 forward from FEU. Aquino, 24, is a 6-2 guard from La Salle.

In 2005, 18 of 43 applicants were drafted and three never got to play in a single PBA game – Al Magpayo, B. J. Manalo and Rey Mendoza. An undrafted player, 5-9 Christian Coronel, surprisingly found a job as a Sta. Lucia rookie this season. Another undrafted player Froilan Baguion is in his second year with Welcoat.

It’s clear that to make it in the PBA, you’ve got to be an elite player with the ability to endure the rigors of a serious game.