PBA board to scrutinize disputed 3-team trade

The controversial three-way trade involving eight players recently is tops on the agenda of the Philippine Basketball Association board of governors’ meeting Thursday. And, although it may seem that the deal is a natural consequence of a squad about to disband, PBA commissioner Noli Eala looks at it as an exception to that unwritten rule. Newly installed PBA chair Ricky Vargas will have his baptism of fire when the former Talk ‘N Text governor presides over his first emergency board meeting to tackle the validity of the trade involving Barangay Ginebra, Coca-Cola, and Air21. Ginebra and Coca-Cola swapped players using Air21 as the bridge since teams under the San Miguel Corp. umbrella are prohibited from directly trading their players. What sparked the controversy was the alleged disparity of the trade. The Kings came out the biggest winner after snaring Rafi Reavis and Billy Mamaril from the Tigers. Aside from Reavis and Mamaril, the Kings also acquired the rights to Rudy Hatfield, a former national player whose status as a foreigner with Filipino roots is under question. He is now in the US. Two teams that previously engaged in one-sided deals have already folded, sparking rumors that Coca-Cola is headed in the same direction. Just before leaving the league last year, Shell dealt Rich Alvarez and Tony dela Cruz to Alaska practically for a song, while Tanduay, which disbanded and sold its franchise to Air21, traded Erik Menk and Dondon Hontiveros for almost nothing in return. “But this is hardly any reason to immediately concede that the trade is an offshoot of Coca-Cola’s decision to disband," Eala said in Tuesday’s PSA Forum at the Pantalan Restaurant in Manila. “The team has told us already that it will continue to stay in the league and that it will not disband." Besides, Eala added, teams wanting to disband have to file a notice three months before the start of the season. Coca-Cola hasn’t forwarded any such notice. Reports have it that the franchise will merely switch product lines — instead of Coca-Cola, another SMC-owned company will take over — and Eala said this is not a form of disbanding. ‘NOTHING BUT GOSSIP' Eala also said that an “SMC big shot" had told him he got the assurance of Bobby Huang, Coca-Cola’s main pillar on the brand’s international standing, that all the talk about the Tigers disbanding is “nothing but gossip." Eala added that recent deals that seemed like one-sided benefited the teams involved because “they found the perfect fit." This latest deal, though, is expected to go under heavy scrutiny by the PBA board. The Tigers got Kalani Ferreria and Manny Ramos from the Kings on top of two second-round picks this year and a future first-rounder. As conduit, the Express settled for the 6-foot-7 Ervin Sotto and Aris Dimaunahan while unloading Ryan Bernardo to the Tigers. “What the board essentially wants is to get a clear picture on how the negotiations went," said Vargas, the new board chair. The trade has been questioned by officials from other teams, who claimed that crowd-favorite Ginebra benefited the most from the trade. “We will use all existing and applicable rules here," said Eala. “If the trade conformed to the rules, then it will be approved." - INQ7.Net