This column appears in the Monday May 24, 2010 edition of the Business Mirror.
The Commissioner
by rick olivares
“The difficult part is being named the Commissioner. The easy part is running the league.”
Thus said the late Leo Prieto, the Philippine Basketball Association’s first commissioner who, despite his failing health, took the time to offer Renauld “Sonny” Barrios some advice.
After a five-year absence from the league as he joined former commissioner and childhood friend Emilio “Jun” Bernardino in retirement in 2002, Barrios was invited back to serve as Officer-in-Charge when his immediate predecessor, Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala stepped down. The interim status was soon upgraded to full-time position and Barrios was the league’s seventh commissioner.
The league’s founding fathers had laid down the groundwork for a support system that would keep the pro loop running like a finely tuned fastbreak. Even on bad days such as the controversy that surrounded his decision to upgrade the Flagrant Foul 1 call on Purefoods’ James Yap to a Flagrant Foul 2 (that carried with it a penalty of a one-game suspension) in a hotly contested finals series with Sta. Lucia in 2007.
The Commissioner’s office (along with a battery of lawyers, technical people, and senior league officials) goes through the rules with a comb and tries to come up with the best possible decisions. “There are many learnings,” intoned Barrios. “From that incident and others as well.”
At work, Barrios starts his day with a prayer with the entire PBA staff. “Let’s count our blessings not our misfortunes,” he would regularly remind his staff.
And though “misfortune” isn’t an appropriate word to describe this 35th season of the PBA, it has been one of the most tumultuous in its history (aside from the year when the rival Metropolitan Basketball Association was formed and the Fil-Sham controversy threatened to undo the league).
The ceremonial jump ball of the first game of the season had yet to be tossed when the league’s number one overall draft pick refused to sign with his club. And when the games began, Wynne Arboleda was suspended for the rest of the year (since lifted last month) after he attacked a heckling fan during a heated game against the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team. Not soon after that, Gilas’ matches were rendered non-bearing after their candidate for naturalization was benched against its “sister team” an incident that was questioned by other squads more so since the nationals and Talk ‘N Text were considered as sister teams as they were ran by the same owner. That was followed by the walk out by Talk ‘N Text and the subsequent financial state of health of a couple of teams that forced them to trade their star players to the top squads.
“There is never a dull moment in the PBA,” joked Barrios. “But on a more serious note, we have to find a balance here because the rich teams get stronger while the less financially liquid teams get weaker. But the league has weathered so many storms. And having been around for 35 years now -- that says something about its strength and staying power.”
At the time when Barrios joined the league, the PBA was the only show in town. The way the streets are deserted when Manny Pacquiao fights today? It was like that back in the day during the Finals. With more distractions, more pursuits, more choices, the pro loop has lost some of its luster. There are always new challenges and changes with the times. “The PBA has to find ways to adapt to the expanded competition.” said Barrios using the term they use to refer to other sports events such as college basketball, the NBA, the V-League, malls, internet, and other similar pursuits.
And based on all of that, there is the ultimate advice: “Pare, gitna ka lang parati.” That came from Atty. Rudy Salud, another former commissioner who helped craft the PBA’s constitution. “That’s how you navigate between the superpowers of the PBA. Siguraduhin mo na meron ka na kinakapitan na rules or regulations. At dapat mayroon kang high sense of fairness at hindi baluktot yung desisyon mo.”
The past and present commissioners are like an old boys club. They stick together and offer help and advice while maintaining their space as to give the other room to grow and the space to be his own man.
In every decision, one team will be satisfied while another will feel aggrieved. “They may not agree with you,” warned Salud. “But if you back it up well, they will respect it.
The league that Barrios grew up in was different. In fact, it was being in the right place at the right time.
Alongside Bernardino who was his classmate since Grade 2 during their elementary days in Ateneo de Manila, they played the game during intramurals and after class. When they were old enough, they tried out for the team though it was Bernardino who made the cut. Even in college Barrios tried out for the team but he had difficulty with then Blue Eagles’ coach Al Dunbar’s drills.
“I thought that was the farthest I’d be in the game,” reminisced the commissioner.
Bernardino later landed a job as the Man-on-the-Ball for the PBA and he provided his friend with courtside tickets to the games. And when Bernardino was moved to the front office, he invited Barrios to come along.
“Dati libre ka lang manood. Ngayon babayaran ka para manood.”
Barrios and league officials do more than watch the games, they review them and find ways to improve the games including never-ending issues on officiating. Some of the new things they have introduced are English-speaking classes for the referees. With more Fil-Ams in the teams, the reason why some refs shy away from talking to coaches or players is that they cannot express themselves properly. An ophthalmologist was brought in and it was discovered that some referees had problems with their eyesight. And now all the referees have weekly on-court basketball drills to help with their muscle memory and on-court positioning. Aside from the television partner’s cameras, they have their own in order to better monitor what goes on inside the court.
Summed up Barrios about the job as league commissioner: “It’s not a perfect system but we are always finding ways to improve. As for myself, I have to do a good job in selling the acceptability of the decisions especially on controversial matters.”
No comments:
Post a Comment