New PBA commissioner to focus on ref's officiating

Like his esteemed father before him, officiating will be the focal point of Atty. Chito Salud's program as he takes on the post of being the new commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Amidst mounting complaints last season on the competence and integrity of those men in stripes, Salud vows to look into the same predicament that hounded the leadership of his father – Rudy Salud – when he was the man on top of Asia's first ever pro league 22 years ago. Of course, this doesn't mean refereeing in the league is in such a bad state as what others might perceive. "Some people look at officiating as the PBA's number one problem. I don't see it that way," said Salud, eldest son of the former PBA commissioner. "I think officiating could be the PBA's No. 1 tool in making the game more exciting if the referees are taught properly and encouraged." When the elder Salud assumed the league's commissionership in 1988, he readily addressed the problem on officiating by energizing the PBA referees academy through increased salaries and fringe benefits, while at the same time, raising the standard of its eligibility. By doing so, it strengthened the public’s confidence in the integrity of the league, resulting in the PBA enjoying unprecedented records in both gate and live attendance as well as TV ratings. "Public interest shall always be paramount," the older Salud always stressed back then. Living by that same dictum, the younger Salud, who succeeds Sonny Barrios as the PBA's eighth commissioner, believes everything starts by having first rate and competent game officials. As of now, the 48-year old Salud said he's finalizing the officiating standards with the help of his technical group, led by committee head Rickie Santos and supervisor of referees Ramil Cruz and which will take effect when the PBA open's its 36th season on October 3. "After we do that, then we’ll meet with the different stakeholders – from the coaches, the Solar Sports TV panel, and the print and broadcast media," he said on his first day as PBA commissioner. "We'll be briefing and orienting them on the rules that will be employed, and at the same time get feedback from them for possible improvements." Even when he served as legal adviser to then Officer In-Charge Barrios and later, as deputy commissioner, Salud always had his sights fixed on how to further improve the league's officiating. "My familiarity with the officiating policies that we have, I have taken a look at that time and time again since 2007 and when I was appointed deputy commissioner," he said. "That will be my main focus in my overall effort to improve our product – the game." Of course, he would be doing it with the help and wisdom of his soft-spoken yet well-respected father, the same man who founded and later drafted the Constitution and By-Laws of the World Boxing Council (WBC). "Who could have the best adviser with respect to sports?" he said. "I have a Rudy Salud not just as my father but an adviser whose motivation is not just to ensure that his son succeeds, but more important, that the league he helped found succeeds." "I can only hope to have that same attitude that he had. And that's what I'm going to put into practice – that everything I do here will not be for self-promotion or motivated by self interest, but will be for the good of the league and in the interest of the ordinary basketball fan." – JVP, GMANews.TV