Grand opening for PBL

The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) is celebrating its 20th anniversary and in a departure from tradition, will open its season without a game in the inaugural program at the Atrium of the SM Megamall Building A tonight.

Leave it to PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad to think of something different for the fans.

The parade of teams will start off the show at 6 p.m. Then, the PBL will pay tribute to its founders and prime movers. Topping the list of benefactors is San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo (Danding) Cojuangco, Jr. who inspired the formation of the PBL, originally known as the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL), in 1983 because of his commitment to develop the sport at the amateur level. Ambassador Cojuangco dug into his own pockets to finance the league’s start-up and today, his commitment is as solid as ever, reflected in the addition of Viva Mineral Water to the PBL’s roster of teams.

Others in the guest list are RFM Corp. president Joey Concepcion–who was PBL chairman for 12 years, former Agriculture Secretary (now Sen. Loren Legarda’s chief of staff) Ding Panganiban, pioneer chairman Oscar Villadolid and Peter Cayco of Arellano University.

Of course, Trinidad hopes to be joined on stage by his predecessors, some of whom held the job on an interim basis. The previous commissioners were Joe Pavia, Moying Martelino, Ramoncito Campos, Tito Tagle, Caloy Manzanillo, Andy Jao, Ogie Narvasa, Phillip Juico, Charlie Favis, and Yeng Guiao.

Trinidad, 35, is the youngest PBL commissioner ever. He took over from Guiao in 2000 and said he’s in it for the long haul. "For as long as our chairman Mr. (Dioceldo) Sy and the Board believe in my programs, I hope to stay on as commissioner," he noted. "I am fortunate that the Board is solidly behind me and that I enjoy the team owners’ full trust and confidence. There is extreme pressure for me to perform and I’m ready to face the challenge of earning for the PBL the respect it rightfully deserves. I realize you don’t ask for respect, you earn it."

Under Trinidad’s watch, the PBL has blossomed into a league of consequence. Among his achievements are reaffirming the PBL’s amateur status–ending a long debate that once threatened to put it under the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) as a professional league, self-producing its telecasts, ridding the PBL of "fly-by-night" clubs, stabilizing its finances, rationalizing its relationship with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), bringing the league to the countryside, reformatting the season with a regional flavor, introducing a salary cap, providing a stable vehicle for the country’s top amateurs to showcase their talent, and laying the foundations for a bright future.

The PBL’s monthly salary cap is P40,000–an amount that shouldn’t drive team owners to the point of bankruptcy. In past years, a player got as much as P200,000. Each team spends about P12 to 14 Million a season, including a P4.5 Million subsidy for the league’s operations. "With our expanded media mileage, we feel the teams are getting their money’s worth," said Trinidad. "It’s affordable to operate a team in the PBL and the costs aren’t unreasonable. You get back what you pay for."

Trinidad added: "Our goal has and will always be to develop basketball. We’ve survived one crisis after another and we’re still around. Long before the MBA (Metropolitan Basketball Association) was organized, we used the regional format and had teams from Maguindanao, Pampanga, Ilocos, and so on. We’re bringing back that flavor this year with our Luzon, NCR (National Capital Region) and Vis-Min divisions. We are proud to be able to develop players for the PBA. In the past, we were scared of losing our stars to the PBA. But not anymore. We know the PBA is the Mount Olympus of Philippine basketball. When the time comes, we want our stars to graduate to the PBA and it’s the job of our teams to replenish the pool–that’s the process of development and evolution."

For the last two years, the PBL has maintained a membership of nine clubs. Today, the roster lists Welcoat, ICTSI, and John O Jazz for NCR, LBC, Blu Star and Nutrilicious for Luzon, and Hapee Toothpaste, Viva Mineral Water, and Montana for Vis-Min. In the Unity Cup eliminations, each team plays teams in its division twice and others once. Preseason games were played in Lipa, Lucena, and San Fernando, Pampanga, and more provincial dates are planned in Bulacan, Baguio, and others as Trinidad is determined to take the PBL roadshow to a wider audience.

Trinidad said he’s dispensing with hackneyed conference tags as the Founders,’ Maharlika, Chairman’s and Challenge Cup and instead, will use the more relevant Unity Cup for the first of two tournaments this season–once more, something different.

As usual, the PBL has a healthy cast of characters. The coaches include such luminaries as Franz Pumaren, Leo Austria, Leo Isaac, Nash Racela, Junel Baculi, Coy Banal and newcomer Monel Kallos. Among the stars are James Yap, Paul Artadi, Marc Pingris, Mark Cardona, Willie Wilson, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Rich Alvarez. They’ll all be there at Megamall tonight.

To cap the affair, the PBL will salute 20 players who were the league’s icons during their amateur days. "They’re not necessarily the best of the best but for sure, they’re the outstanding representatives and finest examples of the different eras in the PBL," explained Trinidad. "They were instrumental in shaping what the PBL is today."

The 20 players are Alvin Patrimonio, Kenneth Duremdes, Allan Caidic, Ato Agustin, Leo Austria, Sonny Cabatu, Dondon Ampalayo, Jojo Lastimosa, Jerry Codiñera, Johnny Abarrientos, Benjie Paras, Jun Limpot, Vergel Meneses, Eric Menk, Marlou Aquino, Danny Ildefonso, Roger Yap, Yancy de Ocampo, RenRen Ritualo, and Romel Adducul.

Trinidad said the Hyperbeat band will dedicate an appropriate song for each of the 20 players and sing it live at the Megamall. Instead of the customary plaques, Trinidad once again will break tradition and give each player a caricature of himself in a PBL jersey as a token of the league’s appreciation and in recognition of his contributions to the sport.

Drop by the Megamall tonight and enjoy the show as the PBL introduces the country’s best basketball players of the past, present, and future.

By the way, PBL hostilities reel off on Sunday at the Makati Coliseum.