Physicality

Had my formative years as a basketball player and fan in the 1980s and ’90s, I surely welcome the “allowed physicality” right now in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). While it is not yet in the realm of the “no-harm, no-foul” ways back in the day, still to see players be given leeway to rough it up more than in any time recently is darn entertaining.

Of course, it is not on the actual players getting hit that I get delight from but more on letting basketball be basketball. It is a contact sport after all and bound to be physical here and there.

One of the lures of the PBA in its early years was that nothing came easy be it for players or teams. On both ends of the court, all those concerned had to earn their keep and battle it out, getting hurt, wittingly or unwittingly, in some cases along the way.

But mind you the significance of such was not lost to the fans then because they recognized the efforts the players and teams were showing and in so doing only enhanced their affinity for their favorites.

As a sportswriter covering the PBA games, I also value the room for physicality given to the players and referees calling less ticky- tack fouls for these make matches more “fluid.”

Based on my observation, the average duration of PBA games of late has been reduced by 10 to 20 minutes in real time, and if you happened to be a writer beating a deadline the extra time afforded you goes a long way.

And I am sure the case is the same for spectators both live and on television for it makes the games less dragging and prompts them to stay glued to what they are watching so as not to miss much of the action.

But with the players given room to be more physical especially on the defensive end, the league has to make sure such is not abused; that the players do not go outright harming one another that could only result to them fighting and/or engaging in heated verbal altercations apart from the obvious of inflicting damage to another person.

The PBA must be on top of things, making the players and teams aware of the right conduct and their responsibilities to the league and the fans, having referees be more pin- point with their calls, and meting the necessary penalties for those found at fault to stop things from spilling over to violence.

Recently we have seen a number of players in fights and near- fights as well as coaches blowing their top and being given technical fouls over what they perceived to be “noncalls.”

It is something I expect to continue for a while not so much because they see the relaxed on- court rules as license to do such but more because of adjustments.

Calls that were easily made on rough plays in the past are not made often these days and those concerned may need time getting used to it.

Provided things do not go out of hand, the renewed physicality in the PBA is just fine. It is a league where men play and they should be allowed to play accordingly.