Vargas: No pay cut in PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Basketball Association officials reiterated that teams remain committed to the salaries and benefits of their players, coaches and personnel during the lockdown and indefinite play suspension.

“Wala pa naman kaming naririnig na kumpanya sa 12 teams na hindi natuloy ang sweldo ng players (We haven’t heard anything about salary disruption among the 12 teams so far),” PBA chairman Ricky Vargas of TNT KaTropa said.

“So we’re also very happy about that, na tuloy-tuloy pa rin yung sweldo nila (they continue to receive their salaries),” he added.

The PBA has been in the freezer for three months now, resulting in huge losses for the league and the teams.

Despite that, though, PBA vice chairman Bobby Rosales of Terra Firma said they aren’t looking at implementing salary cuts like what the NBA has done.

“Kahit kailan hindi naman pa napag-usapan yan (We haven’t discussed that option since the start of the crisis),” Rosales said in Radyo Singko’s Power and Play program recently.

Rosales expressed confidence the ballclubs can sustain operations amid the crisis at least for 2020.

“I think the teams are in a position to withstand this crisis at least for this year siguro,” he said.

“But you know, you have to be realistic also. Hindi natin alam kasi gaano katagal itong crisis (we have no idea how long this crisis will last).

“But as far as the PBA is concerned, financials are sound,” said Rosales.

The PBA has taken the first step in its bid to resume some activities.

Last week, the board convened to finalize its guidelines and protocols for the intended return to team practices limited to six per batch.

It has submitted the documents to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases for review and hopefully approval.