Trade not an issue

PBA chairman Ricky Vargas explained the other day the three-way trade that sent Enrico Villanueva from Red Bull to San Miguel Beer and Romel Adducul from San Miguel Beer to Red Bull then to Purefoods for Don Camaso, a future second round draft pick and other considerations was above board and transacted according to league rules.

What appears to be a source of discontent from some members of the Board of Governors was Villanueva’s mid-season removal from the Restricted Trading List (RTL).

Vargas said the two issues are separate and distinct. The first issue is replacing Villanueva with Mick Pennisi in the RTL. The second issue is the three-way trade.

Under PBA rules, sister teams are not allowed to trade directly. If a player moves from one sister team to another, there has to be a third party involved to effect the transfer. In Adducul’s case, he couldn’t jump from San Miguel to Purefoods because of the teams’ common ownership. The route he took was circuitous – from San Miguel to Red Bull to finally, Purefoods.

Nothing irregular about that. San Miguel got Villanueva in exchange for Adducul and Red Bull, a package that suited its particular requirements.

It’s not right for a team or league official to second-guess why Red Bull settled for a journeyman in Camaso and a future second round pick. Maybe, there were salary cap reasons. Maybe, there were other considerations. Whatever the details of the transaction, it’s evident there was a meeting of the minds  – the transaction was concluded to each party’s satisfaction. Nobody got short-changed in the deal.

Besides, coach Yeng Guiao has a reputation of cracking the whip on superstars and prefers role players who don’t mind his system of no regular starters. So why should anyone question the logic of Villanueva’s departure?

Just look at what Guiao has accomplished at Red Bull. In the Fiesta Conference, the Barakos were first to claim an outright semifinals ticket and are on top of the standings. Since Villanueva’s transfer, Red Bull has won four in a row.

Red Bull officials were quoted as saying Villanueva was traded because of insubordination and he was unhappy with his situation. No coach in his right mind would hold on to a player who’d rather play somewhere else. To keep him would be allowing a cancer to spread.

There is speculation that Villanueva’s insubordination had something to do with his volunteering to join the national team – which meant taking a temporary leave from Red Bull.

To work a trade for Villanueva, he had to be delisted from the RTL.

By the way, PBA commissioner Noli Eala hatched the idea of an RTL to ensure the even distribution of marquee stars. The only way a player in the RTL could be traded was for another player in the same list. The players were chosen on the basis of statistics and other performance indicators.

Eala himself recommended the players in the RTL – Danny Seigle of San Miguel, RenRen Ritualo of Talk ‘N’ Text, John Arigo of Coca-Cola, Dennis Espino of Sta. Lucia Realty, Mark Caguioa of Barangay Ginebra, Willie Miller of Alaska, James Yap of Purefoods and Ranidel de Ocampo of Air21. Now, Pennisi has joined the elite group. Welcoat has no entry in the RTL.

A league source said Eala initially thought of acting on Red Bull’s request after the conference but there was apparent urgency in the appeal.

PBA media affairs bureau chief Willie Marcial said all the members of the Board were informed of Red Bull’s request 10 days before Eala decided to remove Villanueva from the RTL. No objection was registered during the 10-day period.

Clearly, Red Bull initiated the trade talks. The prior move of delisting Villanueva from the RTL meant only one thing – he was being put on the trading block. A source intimated that Red Bull studied trade offers on the table and finally, chose to go the San Miguel route. Talk ‘N’ Text was another possibility for Villanueva to transfer to.

Vargas said the special Board meeting on Thursday will allow Red Bull to clarify why it requested Eala to delist Villanueva.

“If only the other Board members were told why Villanueva was delisted, I’m sure they wouldn’t have reacted so emotionally,” said a source. “Instead, this has revived old suspicions that were addressed long before and buried. At least, the coming Board meeting will give a chance for Red Bull to explain its side and the Commissioner to defend his decision.”

Talk of some teams withdrawing from the PBA because of this “controversy” is far-fetched and baseless. The PBA has weathered rougher storms in the past and remains stronger than ever.

If there was a failure to communicate, the shortcoming will be addressed in Thursday’s meeting. The PBA is too rock-solid to be shaken up by a case of misunderstanding.