MANILA, Philippines — PBA commissioner Willie Marcial is making sure the league’s pool of 19 referees will be up to the task when the Governors Cup playoffs reel off next week. Only eight teams will be left in the quarterfinals with the top four finishers of the single-round eliminations enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage.
Marcial said if there’s a tie for the eighth spot, a playoff will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 6 with the quarterfinals starting at the Cuneta Astrodome the next day. If there is no playoff for the eighth spot, the quarterfinals will start at the Big Dome on Nov. 6. Depending on the outcome of the quarterfinals, the semifinals will begin at the Ynares Center Antipolo on Nov. 10 or 11.
Action is expected to pick up in the playoffs, particularly as the crop of foreign reinforcements could be among the best ever in a conference with a single-import format and a height limit of 6-5. Defending champion Barangay Ginebra is out to capture a third straight Governors Cup crown with Justin Brownlee leading the charge but will contend with seven serious challengers.
Marcial said from Day 1 this season, every referee was served a suspension although none has been terminated. “In the first conference, I thought our referees did a good job and my rating for their performance was 85 percent,” he said. “In the second conference, my rating went down to 80 percent and in the eliminations of the Governors Cup, my rating fell lower to 70 percent. But I’m expecting the performance to go up to the next level when the playoffs begin. I think referees are like some of our players. They perform better at crunchtime. For sure, the technical committee and I will be watching carefully and evaluating each referee’s performance.” The referees’ pool includes two women and three rookies from the PBA D-League.
Marcial said if every playoff series goes the distance, Game 7 of the Governors Cup Finals will be on Dec. 21 as the league takes a break from Nov. 21 to Dec. 4 to make way for the national team’s FIBA Asia/Pacific World Cup Qualifying games against Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 and Iran on Dec. 3. But even as the Finals could extend to Dec. 21, the draft will still be held on Dec. 16. Game 1 of the Finals will be on Dec. 5.
On another issue, Marcial said next season’s All-Star extravaganza will be in only one venue. In the last two years, the PBA has held the All-Star event in three different locations with Gilas playing games against the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao selections. Hosts for the 2017 All-Star games were Cagayan de Oro, Lucena and Lapu-Lapu while this year’s contests were staged in Digos, Batangas and Iloilo. Bidding to host the coming All-Star show are Calasiao, Sta. Rosa and Laoag.
Marcial also said the PBA will take to the road for a Philippine Cup game between Ginebra and Rain Or Shine in Guam on Jan. 19, six days after the 44th season opens on Jan. 13. The Guam outing was originally scheduled last Oct. 13 but was moved to a later date. Two weeks ago, Marcial was in Guam with Ginebra player L. A. Tenorio and newly-designated marketing head Gelo Serrano to finalize arrangements with the Filipino Sports Association of Guam headed by Rolly and Tess Canoy. The PBA delegation would’ve included either James Yap or Chris Tiu but the Rain Or Shine players were busy catching up on training time after representing the country in the recent Asian Games. Marcial, Tenorio and Serrano left Manila for Guam on a Tuesday afternoon, met with the Canoys and Guam Fil-Am Sen. Dennis Rodriguez, were interviewed on radio and TV, then took the evening flight back home the next day.
“We postponed the game on Oct. 13 because we couldn’t get the US visas for everyone ready,” said Marcial. “We tried to reschedule it on Nov. 3 or Nov. 7 but because of the FIBA qualifiers, it was difficult as some Ginebra and Rain Or Shine players are with the national team. It would also have meant playing a possible Game 7 of the Finals after Christmas and since we’re starting the next season on Jan. 13, the time to prepare was too short considering the holidays. So we agreed on Jan. 19.”