PBA mulls restructuring into corporate body

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Basketball Association, a pro loop that has grown with 12 member ball clubs plus 12 D-League teams holding games practically everyday, has decided to reorganize its structure while at the same time doing the search for the next commissioner of the league.

The PBA board of governors, headed by chairman Patrick Gregorio of Talk n Text, made the decision in an executive session at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City Thursday.

In the same meeting, Gregorio, Purefoods Star’s Rene Pardo and Rain or Shine’s Mert Mondragon were named in a special committee that will study the reorganization of the league and lead the search for the new PBA commissioner.

A fourth member of the committee will be an independent person, who is most probably a human resources professional.

“It’s the first time that this will be done, and this is to professionalize the search,” said Gregorio.

“What’s more important is that before we pursue the search for the next commissioner, the board has approved the reorganization of the PBA,” Gregorio also said.

The three committee members hinted at making the PBA like a corporate body with various department heads.

“We’ve realized that the PBA has become so big a league. It has 12 member teams with two or three wanting to join the league. We have the D-League and we’re inviting Asian imports in the third conference. The commissioner is attending so many things. We believe this is the best time to review the structure of the league,” said Gregorio.

“The league has grown so much that we’re overwhelmed by it. Just imagine the life of the commissioner, attending administrative matters and watching at least two games a day. It’s a tiring, taxing process. We feel it’s time to check the structure,” said Pardo.

“We’re being unfair to the commissioner, and the board’s consensus is ‘let’s reorganize,’” said Gregorio.

The present practice is the commissioner taking care of both the PBA and the PBA D-League. Under him is just a four-man management committee made up of Willie Marcial (administration), Rickie Santos (operations), Odessa Encarnacion (finance) and Rhose Montreal (marketing).

The PBA board makes the resolutions and the commissioner runs the affairs of the league.

“It’s just the board and the commissioner. It’s been that way since the league’s birth in 1975,” said Pardo, a former board chair.

Gregorio said they’re reorganizing to better take care of the investments of the member ball clubs.

“It’s not a small investment anymore. We have to take care of that and we have to take care of the franchise fees of the new members,” said Gregorio.