MANILA, 7 November 2003 — Commissioner Noli Eala will still have to wait on whether the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) board of governors would embrace his proposals for drastic changes in the 29-year old league’s schedule and format.
The board of governors deferred action on a proposed new format and calendar that would completely overhaul the structure of the PBA, which is Asia’s first play-for-pay league.
Obviously, the board’s move raised more questions than answers as it needs more time before they could be decided on. Its failure to arrive at an immediate decision was attributed to their desire to be enlightened more on some points of the proposals.
“This is a sensitive issue that should not be hastily decided. The board had asked for another meeting because they want to get the reactions of their respective organizations,” said Eala. “It’s up to them to decide. And I know they would decide in the best interest of the league.”
Eala is proposing a single championship season from October to May to take the place of the usual February-to-December calendar where three conferences are held in a bid to help address poor gate attendance during the rainy season and prop up plummeting television ratings.
One of the board’s major concern was how to maximize the salaries of the players should their teams get eliminated early in the proposed one-season championship format.
Under Eala’s proposal, teams will compete in a division tournament before qualifying for the national championships that would take almost five and a half months to hold.
“The board’s primary concern was the idle time of the players which would take more than five months,” said Eala. “I expect everybody’s reading it (proposals) again. But then again, it’s up to the board to decide on the issue.”
Although teams treated Eala’s proposal with an open mind, some have expressed reservations over the proposed format.
The initial feedback was that team owners were divided on the issue, with some of them expressing apprehension that a shortened calendar and the junking of the three-conference format would take too big a toll on the teams’ exposure.
Sources said some team owners were also reluctant to expand the league’s commitment to the national team beyond the Asian Games.
One nagging point raised by some governors is the five-and-a-half gap between a team’s elimination in the first phase of the National Championship and the next tournament.
“I’m not confident that all my proposals will be accepted completely and implemented without amendments. I’m just hoping that they be considered and looked upon with an open mind,” said Eala.
He added that there’s a need to view the problem of the league in a different perspective and eliminate the out-of-the-box thinking to help the league.
Eala said one of the reasons behind his proposal was to improve the dwindling attendance of spectators in PBA games.
Another was to synchronize the league’s calendar with the FIBA so the PBA can compete and field its players not only in the Asian Games but in the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships, and, hopefully, in the World Championship and Olympics.
Eala said a Philippine win in a tournament like the Asian Basketball Championship held every two years would help whip up the fans’ interest anew.
The changes also include the league’s involvement in the national teams for international meets aside from the Asian Games.
This means the PBA is bending backward once more to try and help raise the country’s basketball program to its previous level.
Eala declared the league is ready to go far beyond its usual commitments to the national cause and even come up with a new calendar and format toward that end.
“I think everybody must now come together and rationalize our basketball program. It should be a concerted effort and the PBA is willing to help and in fact take a major part in this endeavor,” said Eala.
Eala was reacting to the 15th place finish by the country in the recent edition of the biennial ABC in Haerbin, China. The windup was the Filipinos’ worst in the event it has won five times since 1960.
“It is a major concern for the PBA that the national team has been relegated to a very lowly position in the international arena,” Eala said.
One of the major problems, Eala pointed out, was the fact the Aric del Rosario-coached team was deprived of some of the best players who had commitments with their mother squads.
To address the issue, Eala has come up with a proposal that would widen the PBA’s commitment outside the quadrennial Asian Games. The PBA has sent its players to the Asiad since 1990.
