MANILA, 7 August 2006 — The trade which raised many eyebrows among member teams in the PBA hit a snag.
Though one-sided as most quarters see it, the Commissioner’s Office on Friday night gave it a chance to materialize.
Instead of “killing” the 3-team trade that put sister teams Barangay Ginebra and Coca-Cola on opposite sides of the pole on paper, Commissioner Noli Eala gave the teams the chance to complete the deal.
Eala did not shoot down the transaction that shipped Rafi Reavis and Billy Mamaril and the rights to superstar Fil-American Rudy Hatfield to Ginebra that used Air21 as bridge.
The Commissioner cited an unfulfilled provision in the by-laws concerning trades among sister teams while giving all three teams the chance to correct this mistake.
Air21 acquired marginal players Kalani Ferreria, Manny Ramos and Aris Dimaunahan and future draft rights from the Kings, while Coke got Ryan Bernardo and future picks from the Express.
But some of the picks that Air21 got, specifically the 2006 and 2007 rights from the Kings, were rights originally owned by the Express, which violated Article III, paragraph 4 of item 3.04 under Contractual Rights of the league.
Eala said that those rights must first be exercised after being traded away, otherwise, these rights will go into a form of waiver among the rest of the teams to see if there are others interested in those picks. This decision could further infuriate four non-San Miguel Corp. teams which sought clarification from the Office of the Commissioner that necessitated an emergency board meeting on Friday.
Buddy Encarnado, the Sta. Lucia board representative, was the one particularly vocal about the trade, which made the Gin Kings a powerhouse side inside with Eric Menk, Rommel Adducul and Andy Seigle already in the lineup.
At least three other teams signed that letter which was forwarded to Eala, even as Robert Non, in charge of basketball operations of all SMC-owned teams, vehemently decried protests coming from the other teams.
“The trade was legal. We went through the proper channels,” Non was quoted as saying on Thursday.
But Eala saw it otherwise, though no firm decision came up after the emergency board meet.
Meanwhile, Fil-American Kelly Williams got the go-signal to join the Annual Rookie Draft slated Aug. 20, making it a toss-up as to who will become the first overall selection in the proceedings.
Arwind Santos, the former Far Eastern ace who won MVP honors in the PBL and the UAAP, also looms as a potential top overall choice.
The 6-foot-5 Santos undoubtedly is one of the most talented big men in the 51-man pool, with Williams coming a very close second. Sta. Lucia owns the first overall pick and could exercise that right on Santos, who could complement twin towers Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino well underneath.
