Tanduay violated salary cap rule?

The PBA fact-finding board looking into the possible violation of the salary cap rule by Tanduay appeared to have gained a breakthrough as veteran Jayvee Gayoso decided to testify against his former team.

If found to have violated the league salary cap rule, Tanduay may well be forced to push through with its threat to bolt the league and transfer to the rival MBA since the offense would entail severe sanction from the PBA.

League by-laws call for the forfeiture of a ballclub’s share from the league’s television earnings in case of a salary cap rule violation. This would amount to no less than P20 million.

Gayoso alleged he played for Tanduay in the PBA in the 1999 and 2000 seasons getting two pay checks — one representing the right amount stated in the Uniform Player Contract (UPC) filed with the Commissioner’s Office and the other a "side-contract" deal with the team.

Commissioner Jun Bernardino said Gayoso has submitted documents to prove his claim but refused to reveal the details. The STAR, however, gathered from a reliable source that these are bank statements proving Gayoso to have indeed received two different checks from the ballclub.

Bernardino said they will study the documents and look into Gayoso’s allegations to see if they have a case against Tanduay.

Earlier this year, Tanduay had reported to have probably violated the salary cap rule following Pido Jarencio’s transfer to Pop Cola.

A Pop Cola official found out that Jarencio also had an under-the-table deal with Tanduay but the latter denied the accusation, claiming miscommunication between the ballclub and the player.

This development came a day after Tanduay team owner Lucio "Bong" Tan, Jr. threatened to pull out his team from the PBA over the alleged series of setbacks dealt by the league, including unfair treatment from the league commissioner and the board itself.

Although Tan seemed to have backtracked, citing a deluge of calls and e-mails from fans asking him to reconsider his decision, Bernardino would still summon the Tanduay owner to a meeting on Wednesday from where sanctions would be made.

"Kung sabagay nasa PBA na nga naman kami, bakit pa kami aalis? Matagal pa naman ang year 2002, so I will think about it," said Tan.

At the same time, Tan clarified that he has nothing against San Miguel personally but felt the SMC ballclub has been getting all the breaks and favors from the Commissioner’s Office lately.

"We have a good business relationship with San Miguel and I have nothing personal against it . Nagkataon lang na I felt sila ang nakakalamang sa PBA, so I mentioned its name. Kung Red Bull, Sta. Lucia or any other teams ang pakiramdam kong nakakalamang, I will mention their names, too," said Tan.

Meanwhile, PBA board chairman Ignatius Yenko stressed the PBA is not a "San Miguel league" even as he said they will hear Tanduay’s grievances in the proper venue - the board meeting.

"This has become an emotional issue and we should take a more sober look at it while Mr. Tan and the Tanduay management appear to have some grievances in the league and some of its officials. We will hear them out but only in the proper venue which is the board of governors meeting," said Yenko.

"The PBA is definitely not a San Miguel Beer league. This reactionary statement serves any purpose except to muddle the issue. It’s unfortunate that this issue has been blown out of proportion, and it could probably be best if Tanduay management looks at it at a bigger picture which is the welfare of the league and the interest of the public," he added.

Bernardino summoned Tan to a meeting after getting the majority approval of the board which the Commissioner’s Office polled after reading Tan’s tirade against the league in the dailies yesterday.

The commissioner said his office will give the Tanduay team owner a chance to give his side on the controversy. He will then make the appropriate recommendation to the board based on his findings in the meeting.

Out of the eight board members polled by the Commissioner’s Office excluding the board chairman and Tan, seven gave the approval that the Tanduay top honcho be summoned and faced a possible sanction for undermining the league.