Commentary: Time for some soul-searching, PBA

MANILA, Philippines – There have been reports that the majority of the PBA Board of Governors who were unhappy at the approval of the top pick of the recently concluded draft will vote not to renew the contract of Chito Narvasa as league commissioner.

To recap, the trade that saw Kia send the number one overall pick to San Miguel Beer for a bunch of bench and role players is hardly the paragon of a fair trade. Had SMB added a top rotation player, maybe even a starter to the mix then it could have been equitable.

Unfortunately, the startling lack of equity in that trade is just the latest in a never-ending litany of controversy in the pro league; not to mention the office of the commissioner.

Let me be clear — trading a top pick is fine but it has to help a team. If it doesn’t then people will smell something fishy.

Should Narvasa not be renewed, then it concludes a controversial short stint as the PBA’s ninth commissioner. This includes the feud with journalist Snow Badua that led to the latter’s subsequent banning from the coverage of the games; the confrontation with Talk ‘N Text import Ivan Johnson; the finger pointing at then Alaska Ace Dondon Hontiveros; the unpopular retention of disgraced league official Rhose Montreal (the board save for Alaska is complicit in this boneheaded decision); his comments about them Mahindra player Manny Pacquiao and his suspension of team consultant Joe Lipa; his feud with predecessor Chito Salud; and now his approval of the Kia-SMB trade and the subsequent naming of a TNT official in the handling of a paperwork of Christian Standhardinger.

As much as the office of the commissioner is tainted by all these controversies, the league should also take a long, hard look at itself in the mirror. The individual teams always talk about integrity and winning for the fans.

Really? What was it with those positions of chief executive officer and a commissioner with responsibilities that overlap? What about hiring or rehiring someone with a fake resume on the pretext that the person brought in money? Excuse me. There is nothing in the league that hasn’t been copied from the NBA so do not think even the premiums that are sold during game day are all a result of ingenuity. If they didn’t make money before, then I will accede to that. But it doesn’t follow, logic-wise.

Do we even need to recite the litany of controversies through the years? Never has a league had so many yet with so few characters.

Back to the bone of contention, the draft is supposed to be equitable as it allows the weaker teams to build with blue chip players in order to make the league more competitive. Unfortunately once more, the basic agenda for each team is to win and sell their product. It’s about one-upmanship. It’s the haves who trump the have nots who are fleeced of their picks.

The league could really learn a thing or two or maybe even four from the Four-Way test of Rotary Clubs:

1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

This is a sad affair for the PBA that never seems to learn. Maybe when board of governors fly to the United States for their annual planning session, they should look at those basic four-way test questions before they undertake any planning and approval of those plans.