PBA Commissioner Salud: Powerade has not been sold yet

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud released a statement Tuesday in an attempt to defuse persistent rumors of a sale of the Powerade Tigers franchise to the San Miguel Corporation (SMC).   In the statement, Salud shared the contents of a letter sent by William Schultz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI), which owns the Powerade franchise, wherein Schultz assured the PBA Board of Governors that the franchise is still under their control.   Schultz's letter reveals however that the CCBPI has met recently with SMC "conformably to a right of first refusal to buy the basketball team" but that "no sale has been concluded."   The CCBPI also promised to follow "the proper process should it [the CCBPI] decide to consummate the sale of its franchise, namely by first notifying and requesting approval for a sale from the PBA Board of Governors."   SMC maintains the right of first refusal due to a clause in the original sale of the franchise back to Coca-Cola. That means that should the CCBPI want to sell the franchise, SMC has the option of making an offer, before any other third party.   Should SMC reacquire the Tigers, it would give the conglomerate an unprecedented four franchises in the PBA.   Due to fears that such an event could happen. Commissioner Salud said that "it [the possibility of a sale]...lays bare a need for additional rules to govern the matter of franchise sale that would in the future prevent the kind of speculations and concerns that have been expressed the past weeks. I will bring this up to the Board for discussion to come up with a collective decision on the matter."   Salud also delayed a decision on the proposed trade between Powerade and the Petron Blaze Boosters, an SMC-owned team, saying that the Board of Governors would first get together once more at a special meeting on Monday, February 20.   Prior to the start of the Commissioner's Cup conference, Powerade and Petron filed the paperwork for a trade which would see the Tigers send the fourth pick in last year's draft, Marcio Lassiter, to the Blaze Boosters in exchange for the number one and three picks from the 2010 draft, namely Nonoy Baclao and Rey Guevarra.   Held alongside the rumors of Powerade's sale to SMC, many felt that such a trade was a workaround to the rule that sister teams could not trade directly with each other. - AMD, GMA News