FilBasket case closed, says Mitra

MANILA, Philippines — GAB chairman Baham Mitra said yesterday there’s no reason to bring FilBasket to court even as the league held its inaugural tournament despite the government agency issuing a cease-and-desist order late last year. FilBasket insisted it was amateur but GAB resolved it was professional in nature, leading the league to appeal the ruling.

While the appeal was pending, FilBasket went through with its 26-day competition in Subic. GAB could’ve stopped FilBasket from playing by securing a TRO but it would’ve deprived players, coaches and staff from earning income during the pandemic. As it turned out, the appeal became moot and academic because it was eventually withdrawn by FilBasket and the tournament had ended.

Mitra said FilBasket was supposed to file a memorandum of appeal to Malacañang after sending a one-page notice to GAB in response to the cease-and-desist order. “Per rules of procedure, we transmitted the FilBasket records to the Office of the President,” said Mitra. “It did not get to the point where FilBasket filed a memorandum so the case is closed. But we will continue monitoring FilBasket and others similarly situated to prevent a violation of the law governing professional sports. FilBasket’s previous defiance was ill-advised as the rules on this matter are well-established. GAB’s advice to organizers is to comply with the law and GAB will always assist in any way it can within the bounds of its mandate.”

After withdrawing its appeal, FilBasket e-mailed GAB to inform that it will send a letter of intent to turn pro. FilBasket commissioner Jai Reyes confirmed the transition to a pro league. “Hopefully, GAB doesn’t pursue any criminal case against us anymore,” he said. “No hard plans yet because of the restrictions but we are talking to interested teams and owners to see whom we will invite for our league meeting to discuss the next season. From this meeting, we can gauge if we’ll sell franchises. We’ll synchronize our schedule with other main leagues so players can have more playing opportunities. We’ll be very happy if our players can make the PBA like Simon Camacho who was our MVP and got signed by Phoenix right after. We also hope to produce talents good enough to be recruited in international leagues. Our first tournament was an invitational and we did not have any franchise teams. We look forward to working with GAB in our future tournaments as they can help FilBasket grow further as a professional league.”