Max pay for Gilas players

A large, nationwide roasted chicken sponsor has stirred public opinion by offering “max” salaries (by PBA standards) to the players who agree to play full-time for Gilas Pilipinas. Some people laud this as a way to provide more “oomph” to the Philippine national cause, particularly because of the Jones Cup wherein the country is fielding an underdog team. On the other hand, some feel this is a bit too much, since most – if not all – of the players are theoretically getting paid already, anyway.

Let’s set something straight. People are free to spend their private money however they choose. In some companies, there is jealousy over the compensation that pro basketball players get vis-à-vis corporate executives. The question is who contributes more to the corporation’s income and business growth. Consider the fact that athletes get to play 10, 12 years at the most, while corporate executives can have 30 to 40 years on a company’s management team, then it starts to even out.

If you recall, the members of the original Northern Consolidated team back in the early 1980’s received compensation, and there was a gentleman’s agreement that the PBA would not recruit them until after their five-year tour of duty was completed. That model was never replicated completely, since open basketball was declared in 1989. Since then, all national teams have been by invitation, with favoritism and familiarity becoming the deciding factors, along with whoever will pay the bills. So far, not too many people have complained, save for the purists who wish Fil-Ams were not part of the equation. That entire political undercurrent has been forgotten as people have focused on the success or failure of each team. Success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan, and so on.

So is anything wrong if Chooks To Go is getting mileage from this? Not really. This was a smart move on their part. The basic tenet of PR is to do good and tell the whole world about it. On the face of it, they are helping the national team, helping push in the medium-term goal of making it back into the Olympics. That is a good thing, isn’t it? So why are some people unhappy about it?

In this writer’s opinion, the sponsor is an outsider offering unsolicited help. That is how it appears. We are often wary of the generosity of strangers. We sometimes feel it comes at a price. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. At the end of the day, what counts is that the players stay with the team as long as it is necessary to get the job done. As it stands, Gilas Pilipinas is fielding line-ups of different strengths for every tournament it is joining. That is not really a good thing. Politics, chemistry, injury and availability are all unpredictable at this point. That becomes an unnecessary burden on the coaches and team management. Who wants that?

If you ask me, let anyone willing to help, help. If they get something out of it that does not go against the interests of the national team or its benefactors or the PBA, then let the aid come in. The players are taking great risks, as are the teams that actually employ them. Though it is not a completely accurate comparison, the MICAA teams were also burdened with players’ salaries as the BAP was borrowing their players indefinitely. That was what propelled the birth of the PBA, in the first place. So it sort of feels like things have been coming full circle.

The question always seems to be not “who gains” but “what is the agenda”. If there is no perceivable agenda other than to help, let’s not wonder. Let’s be thankful. In the vernacular, why question manna when it falls? There is so much going against our desire for success internationally, why feel bad when something actually goes right.

Everybody in the PBA has a right to get mileage from their support of the national team. If an outsider comes in to offer help, it may appear to be some form of encroachment. Or is it?