Mbala and Narvasa
After that heart-stopping 79-76 victory by La Salle over Ateneo on Sunday, let us go now quickly to Los Angeles, CA. But let me first pause a bit as I’m still catching my breadth following the Green Archers’ triumph that halted the Blue Eagles’ winning streak at 13.
That was another thriller to remember, just like in their first-round encounter when Ateneo escaped with a 76-75 cliffhanger on Matt Nieto’s winning two free throws.
An Ateneo victory on Sunday would have pushed the Eagles to a sweet sweep of 14 games in the two-round elimination series of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
But Ben Mbala, the deadliest Archer from Cameroon, embarked on yet another murderous mission, firing 28 points, grabbing 19 rebounds and blocking 6 shots as he almost single-handedly shouldered La Salle home to victory.
As a result, Mbala deflected Ateneo’s outright Finals entry, paving the way for a Final 4 match-ups pitting La Salle-Adamson and Ateneo-Far Eastern University on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
As Nos. 1 and 2 after the eliminations, Ateneo and La Salle need only to win once against their opponents to advance to the best- of-three title showdown.
Once that happens—and pundits say so—Mbala again remains the pillar in La Salle’s title-retention bid. Stopping him is Ateneo’s only chance to steal the crown.
Meanwhile, let’s go back to Los Angeles, where the 12 PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) governors are supposed to tackle the fate of Commissioner Chito Narvasa and the league’s thrusts in the next season opening on Dec. 17.
Earlier, 7 governors of Meralco, TNT, NLEx, Phoenix, Rain or Shine, Blackwater and Alaska wanted Narvasa out even before his term expires on Dec. 31. But 5 governors of San Miguel Beer, Ginebra, Star, GlobalPort and Kia opposed it, triggering a standoff as 8 votes are needed to remove a commissioner.
Thus, since Narvasa remains as commissioner, how can the 7 governors appoint Rickie Santos as PBA Officer-In-Charge? Non sequitor (it does not follow).
Because Narvasa, a lawyer, knows his law, he would heed the law, meaning the word of the 7 governors means nothing? Now, if Narvasa resigns, that’s another thing. But will he?