PBA lottery to be defined

The PBA Board of Governors, PBA management committee and TV5/ CignalTV executives meet during the planning/review conference at the Hotel Warwick conference room in Paris.
STAR/File

MANILA, Philippines — A lottery system awaits rookie eligibles who apply for the draft in the fourth or fifth year from skipping their first available opportunity to join with PBA commissioner Willie Marcial noting that in the event they enlist starting the sixth year, their mode of entry will be determined by the Board of Governors. The new protocol for rookie eligibles was set at the recent PBA Board of Governors planning/review meeting in Paris. The Board decided to strike out the previous stipulation of a two-year sit-out for rookie eligibles who skip the draft for three years from their first available chance to apply.

Marcial said the mechanics of the lottery system will still be defined and could conform to the draft order or not. The next PBA draft is scheduled on Sept. 17 and a lottery system will be in place for players joining after opting out for three years. This will be the case for players like Thirdy Ravena, who’s seen action for three years in the Japanese B-League and NLEX On Tour pick-up Dominick Fajardo who’s never applied for the draft. Fajardo, 29, was picked on the 15th round by Zark’s Lyceum in the 2017 PBA D-League draft and has since begged off from joining the PBA. Now, he’s playing for NLEX in the PBA On Tour after suiting up for Cavitex in the PBA 3x3.

The PBA On Tour will end July 30 with teams taking a break in August before resuming practice for next season in September. The league’s 48th campaign will reel off on Oct. 15. Only two conferences are scheduled as the PBA has broken tradition by extending its offseason to allow training and playing time for players in the Gilas pool. The cut-back will mean a 25 to 30 percent drop in estimated net revenues with one conference less.

The planning/review meeting resolved several key issues, including the retention of rights of teams to veterans declining offers to extend their contracts when they’ve played less than seven years in the PBA, PBA’s participation in EASL and vice-versa with the Bay Area Dragons in the Commissioner’s Cup, next season’s calendar with provisions for international games and allowing Fil-foreigners to join the draft regardless of age. The Board received financial and performance reports from the PBA Management Committee and a review of viewership numbers and plans for coverage by TV5/CignalTV executives. The Board also approved the appointment of Atty. Ogie Narvasa as PBA Properties corporate secretary and PBA Board secretary.

Show comments