PBA: Waiting to exhale

Is the PBA a powder keg which could be set off at any time?

So far, the major issues that were supposed to be resolved at the planning session in Los Angeles have been left to fester, and have probably calcified into more obstinate positions. The league, trying its best to limp forward, has released an abbreviated schedule for the 43rd season, one which spans only a few weeks. Though it is operating as if nothing is wrong, we all know better. The cracks are showing, and the silence regarding the fractures is unsettling for the fans who wish things could go back to the way they were. But the problems have reached a sore point so publicly that we can no longer be oblivious to the differences that still stand in between the two factions.

For whatever reason, most sports media have been mum on what’s happened since November. Maybe they don’t want to be the bearers of bad news; maybe they don’t know what to say. Maybe they want to take a side, but obviously can’t. Unlike in politics where there is a cycle, you don’t want to offend anyone who will eventually be in a position to limit your ability to do your job. And not knowing who really speaks for the league at this point makes it difficult to assume that everything will be okay.

For a few weeks now, news about the PBA has been muted. A subdued series of preseason games has resembled collegiate intramural matches among teams within each faction. There was the distraction of the UAAP finals, which helped fans breathe out some of their anxiety. But now, the cold reality is setting in that things are not okay, and could get worse in a flash.

In a sense, PBA fans are like the children of squabbling parents. They hear the shouting behind closed doors, and feel the instability which they have no control over. They see the sombre faces, notice the sober tones, and know something is wrong. They’re alarmed by the flashes of anger behind their elders’ eyes, and feel helpless to do anything about it. It is painful to feel like an outsider at the family table. And it is something you don’t forget. Often, children feel like their parents don’t love them enough to stay together.

So despite the impasse, despite the strained friendships, despite the silence between both sides, the games will go on. But given that the ill feelings have not been smoothed over, the same sensitivities remain. It is a precarious situation state to be in. One bad call, one lopsided game, one reason to feel any unfairness, and things could get loud and ugly again. Despite safeguards like a hefty fine, teams have walked out under relatively normal situations. What more now? It’s easier, since there is no go-between protecting both sides.

Will the PBA break up? Unlikely, but possible, for quite a few reasons. First, the league is just one advertising vehicle for the multinational corporations whose brands each team represents. They could allocate their expenses elsewhere – even to another sport – if they so wanted. Secondly, there is no clear path towards resolving their differences, and the negativity may dull the appeal of the games themselves. Third, how will important decisions and announcements affecting everyone be made? Who decides what? Small problems that could be resolved behind closed doors aren’t so simple. It appears that things are not simmering down.

On the other hand, what will keep everyone together? 

Each team has a fan base of millions that could either be lost or could turn against them. That could not only be a public relations nightmare, but could adversely affect retail business. Teams are tied closely with the products they carry. They sell more when they win. A bad reputation would have the opposite effect. And anyone who crosses the line and strikes out on their own may be construed as the “bad guy”, the one who caused irreversible damage to a Philippine sports institution. And nobody wants that. It will depend on who spins the story best and fastest. And in the age of the unapologetic, unforgiving online troll, disaster could strike fast.

Also, the team owners, at heart, love the PBA, love basketball, love the fans. That is why they joined the league in the first place, despite the emergence of more cost-effective and less costly advertising and marketing platforms. Having known many of them for years, even decades, being connected with the PBA, having the constant of the games, provides a stability, a default setting, an emotional home to fall back on.

The PBA may be the only communal experience Filipinos have. Online piracy has fragmented movie watching, television can now be binge-watched any time, on demand. Where else can you have the unifying joy of having been at the games or having watched them on television, seeing highlights, talking and teasing one another? More importantly, is it possible to recreate that commonality somewhere else, through something else?

That may be the question that is giving the two fighting factions pause.