PBA tackles critical issues

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA Board of Governors will convene for its regular monthly meeting on Thursday with a loaded agenda to include critical issues involving the formation of a national pool and its impact on the draft.

PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said the other day a decision must be made regarding amateur standouts who may be tapped for the national pool and are applying for the draft scheduled on Dec. 8. If the SBP plans to assemble an initial pool of 12 amateurs for exclusive year-round training in preparing for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the players may enter the coming draft but will not be allowed to play in the PBA until they are released from the national program. Every year until 2023, the pool may expand to include more players eligible for the PBA draft.

“It will depend on the SBP’s road map,” said a PBA source. “If the SBP is ready, the PBA Board would like to know what the plan is. The PBA is fully committed to the SBP and the Gilas program.” Vargas said he will ask SBP president and Meralco PBA governor Al Panlilio to brief the Board on the national program.

If the SBP intends to revive the Northern Cement Corp. (NCC) program of the 1980s, it will mean forming a team of amateur standouts to stay together over a period of four years or until the 2023 FIBA World Cup that the Philippines is co-hosting with Indonesia and Japan. The national team could compete in the PBA as a guest entry like NCC in 1985. It will also be exposed to international competition on a regular basis.

“The pool will be dynamic,” said the source. “Players may come and go, depending on the progress of the team and what it requires to improve. Since the players will go through the PBA draft, their rights will be with certain teams but may not play in the PBA until they’re released or unless they’re with the national team as a guest entry. When there are international competitions like the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers or the FIBA Asia Cup, the national coach may enlist two, three or more PBA players as reinforcements if he wants.”

The SBP will name a national program director and a head coach to get the ball rolling. Ateneo coach and former Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin has been mentioned as a strong candidate for the position of national program director. Another strong candidate is former Gilas head coach Chot Reyes. The head coach may be either a Filipino or a foreigner. Names are now being sorted out by the SBP.

“The PBA is ready to sacrifice,” said the source. “If certain players applying for the coming draft will be picked for the national pool, they’ll still go through the draft process but their signing rights will not be exercised until they’re released.”

The PBA is also awaiting the SBP’s proposal for a pool of prospective naturalized players. FIBA has ruled that foreigners may be enlisted to play for any national team as locals if they are issued their passports before turning 16. It’s the reason why Qatar has brought in nine Bosnian and three Senegal natives who are less than 16 to play for the national team as locals.

Another issue for discussion may be adjusting the PBA rules to conform to FIBA. It won’t be a wholesale approach but perhaps, a rule at a time. One FIBA rule is empowering coaches with the exclusive right to call timeouts. In the PBA and NBA, players are allowed to call timeouts during a game and in tight inbound situations. When San Miguel Beer played Zhejiang in the battle for third place at the Terrific 12 in Macau last Sunday, Terrence Romeo was called for a five-second inbound violation. In the PBA, Romeo could’ve called a timeout and avoided a five-second violation.

“Right now, the PBA is moving closer to FIBA rules with the same interpretation of the traveling and goaltending violations,” said the source. “We’ll study any more rules to adapt but we’ll have to draw the line somewhere because the PBA has its own playing conditions.” NLEX coach Yeng Guiao, who called the shots for Gilas at the last FIBA World Cup, said he’s not agreeable to taking out the players’ privilege to call a timeout.