MANILA, 14 August 2007 — With very little time and with so many candidates to evaluate, the PBA board of governors yesterday settled for a tried and tested veteran.
Renauld “Sonny” Barrios was appointed the league’s Officer-In-Charge after a lengthy deliberation yesterday afternoon as the board went for experience more than anything else before naming a long-term head.
“One qualification (why he was chosen) is because he has no ambition (of becoming commissioner),” Ricky Vargas of Talk ‘N Text, the outgoing chairman, said in an official statement at the Makati Shangri-La.
“And he had the inside track because of his knowledge of the PBA,” added Vargas of Barrios. “He will be purely the OIC. This is just a bridging job (for the next commissioner).”
The 60-year-old Barrios was chosen over four others — former Sen. Freddie Webb, Fritz Gaston, corporate man Lambert Ramos and UAAP commissioner Ed Cordero.
Barrios was the man most pained when the late Jun Bernardino retired at the end of the 2002 Season as he was snubbed by the board in favor of Noli Eala.
Eala, incidentally, resigned last week after being disbarred by the Supreme Court for “immorality,” and this opened the gates for Barrios’ return to call the shots in Asia’s first professional cage league.
“This came as a surprise,” said Barrios over the phone. “The circumstances surrounding 2002 notwithstanding, I never thought that this would come. Being a candidate in itself was a surprise.”
“Maybe my dear friend Jun B (Bernardino) was at work here,” added Barrios, who will take time off from his care-giving business in Sacramento , California to “serve the league I love.”
The board’s choice came as a mild surprise as it had earlier leaked its preference of Webb to the covering media.
“We cannot appoint him (Webb) as OIC because he will be disqualified from the race for commissioner,” Vargas explained even as he refused to identify who or how many the candidates for the post are.
Webb now looms as the likely commissioner-to-be considering how Vargas talked and how reports saying that the board will vote 7-2 to install him had leaked the past couple of days.
Prominent names like Grand Slam-winning coach Tommy Manotoc, former Senator Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Philip Cezar, Chot Reyes and unknowns like Bert Manlapit have floated making the list.
Barrios’ first task would be to hold the coming Rookie Draft, which is set for Sunday, and then run the Philippine Cup, the more prestigious tournament held each year.
“He (Barrios) will not stay for more than a conference,” Vargas added. “That will give the (newly-formed) committee the time to evaluate the credentials of the candidates (for the commissioner’s post).”
The committee tasked of selecting the new commissioner will be made up of Red Bull’s Chua, who is also the incoming chairman, Alaska ‘s Joaqui Trillo, Robert Non of Ginebra San Miguel who is now the treasurer, and two others still to be named.
All the members of the board were present yesterday, with Buddy Encarnado and Ariel Magno there for Sta. Lucia, Ely Capacio for San Miguel, Lito Alvarez for Air21, JB Baylon for Coca-Cola and Mamerto Mondragon for Welcoat.
Meanwhile, the opening of the 33rd season has been moved from Sept. 23 to Oct. 14 as no suitable venue is available. The championship series of the UAAP will start on the 23rd and the PBA sees going head-to-head with the most popular collegiate league as suicide at the gates.
