PBA hopes to help cash-strapped teams

With two teams already struggling to make both ends meet, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is putting its acts together to avoid a similar incident that happened in the past. It was way back in 1983 when the the entire nation felt the economic pinch brought about by the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr. that even the PBA, the biggest sports entertainment in the country that time, wasn’t even spared. Teams such as Crispa and Toyota, crowd drawers in the league during that time, as well as fellow founding member Gallerie Dominique owned by Nikki Coseteng and Winston Kings of the Manhattan Shirts franchise – failed to survive the economic slowdown – and folded up. Crispa was able to loan players from Winston Kings and Tanduay, sending Romulo Mamaril and Tito Varela to the Filter Kings and Rhum Masters. Toyota was also able to help out Winston, which changed its name to Countryfair Hotdog, by lending Ed Merced. And the league also stood out to help the cash-strapped Gallerie Dominique, formerly known as Mariwasa/Noritake in the league’s early years. The PBA team members pooled together by helping Coseteng pay the salaries of their players. Eventually, Toyota, owned before by Delta Motors of the Silverio family, folded up by the end of 1983 then Crispa, which completed its second grandslam, followed suit in 1984. Lucio Tan’s Manila Beer also disbanded in 1986 with the PBA having its lowest number of participation with six teams that year. Fast-forward to 2009, Barako Bull and Sta. Lucia are struggling to keep their respective squads competitive in time for the PBA’s 35th season. They were forced to trade their key players and tighten up their expenses to survive. Instead of panicking, newly-installed league chairman Lito Alvarez stressed the importance of coming up with cost-efficient ways to avoid pitfalls in order for both teams to survive the challenge. Barako Bull, which traded its key players the past few years, was one of those visibly affected. Teams like Coca-Cola and Talk N Text, have recently come to their aid by lending their respective players, whose salaries will be shouldered by their mother teams. Sta. Lucia, on the other hand, traded Denok Miranda and team captain Dennis Espino, a move that would somehow give their team’s salary cap some breathing room. The PBA has imposed a maximum salary cap of P32 million, including a P350,000 monthly pay for its stars. – GMANews.TV