Sy apologizes to GAB chief, vows to honor commitments

MANILA, Philippines — A day after declaring that his PBA franchise is up for sale, Blackwater Elite team owner Dioceldo Sy did the next best thing.

He assured everyone, from the players and coaches down to the ballboys, that Blackwater will honor their contracts until the six-year-old franchise finds a new owner.

“Yes, of course,” he told The STAR, which first broke news Wednesday evening that Sy had already put a price tag of P150 million on the franchise.

The 62-year-old Sy said Blackwater will also continue to honor its commitment to the PBA and its fans, and vowed to suit up if and when the league gets the go-signal from the government to resume play before the franchise is sold.

“We need to play if there is no buyer. It’s okay. We have a good team,” he said yesterday.

The team is raring to play amid the pandemic. In fact, they were quite too eager that they held practice several days ago, ahead of the 11 other teams and even without the final clearance from the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and the PBA-imposed swab testing.

Blackwater’s move raised some eyebrows, and drew the ire of PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

But Sy, who at first had maintained that they did not violate any rules, mainly because they observed the strictest health protocols during their on-court gathering, has mellowed down.

Sy told The STAR that he has instructed his brother, PBA board of governors member Silliman Sy, to arrange a meeting with GAB chairman Baham Mitra.

“I’m requesting a meeting with Abraham Mitra to personally apologize to him for the animosity created by our actions. I’m humbling down for the sake of peace,” he said.

“I’m sending a message to the GAB chairman if we can meet anytime so I can apologize to him personally,” said Sy, a sportsman and owner of Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc.

“I just want to quiet down the issues. I don’t want to create any animosity with anyone. I will also request for a meeting with our PBA commissioner,” he added.

Sy said his six-year-old franchise filing a leave of absence from the PBA is not an option at the moment.

“I just hope we can swing the deal quickly on selling our franchise,” he said.

Chooks-to-Go, said to be a prospective buyer, isn’t dipping its hands on the deal, saying it’s still focused on helping the Philippine 3x3 team qualify to next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Chooks is not raring to go just yet.