PBA board hopes to resolve rumored Powerade sale to SMC

The PBA Board of Governors will meet Friday, a few hours before the Commissioner's Cup opens, to discuss the rumored sale of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines-owned Powerade Tigers to San Miguel Corp. (SMC). PBA chairman Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine said all members of the board will attend the 11 a.m. meeting at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City where the Powerade and San Miguel officials are expected to formally disclose whether or not Powerade was sold to SMC. "There are no documents and there has been no official word. I have called this emergency meeting so that we can hear from Powerade and from San Miguel what the real score is," said Mondragon. San Miguel—which already owns Petron, B-MEG and Barangay Ginebra—reportedly bought back Powerade at P100 million or P40 million higher than the price of a new franchise. PBA commissioner Chito Salud said the PBA teams have a say on the sale of any team franchise. "All sales, transfers or assignments of team franchises will be valid only upon the approval of two-thirds of the 10 member teams," he said. If its sale is confirmed true and gets PBA approval, Powerade becomes the fourth PBA team of SMC Group and will raise concerns on the balance of corporate power in the league. Manny V. Pangilinan owns two teams, Talk 'N Text and Meralco, while Bert Lina has Barako Bull and Air21.   "Formal notice must be sent to the Office of the Commissioner of any intention to sell the transferor team. Short of these basic requisites, Coke (Powerade) remains a member of good standing entitled to all rights and obligations attendant to regular membership." Salud, in the best interest of PBA fans, said he is looking forward to the meeting so the board can openly discuss the rumored sale. The proposed Marcio Lassiter-Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra trade, which await approval from Salud, will also be discussed in the meeting. Powerade rookie Lassiter, one of the contenders for the Philippine Cup's Best Player of the Conference award, will be shipped to Petron for Baclao and Guevarra, the top and third overall pick in the 2010 PBA Rookie Draft, rarely saw action for the Boosters. — JVP/ELR/KG, GMA News