Season 43

After four decades, Asia’s pioneer professional basketball league is sailing on rough seas as there is a power struggle as to who will captain a flailing boat out of the storm. Backed by a conglomerate that almost monopolized the league, a controversially defiant commissioner is holding on against the wishes of another faction composed of allies another controlling entity.

Because of the one-sided trade that everyone who follows the Philippine Basketball Association already knows, the league became divided. Of the twelve teams, seven of them wanted the current commissioner out. The remaining five are in support of the embattled league top man. The off-season standoff had the rumor factory producing talks of the league postponing its scheduled opening.

Yet all has been set for the start of the 43rd season of

the Philippine Basketball Association this coming Sunday, December 17. All twelve teams were represented in a recent media launch at a hotel somewhere in Manila and for the moment declared a ceasefire to ensure that the Philippine Cup, what we had known as the AllFilipino Conference before, would begin as scheduled.

The twelve teams will parade with their muses headed by former Ms. World-Philippines Laura Lehmann, TV personality Phoemela Baranda and volleyball poster girl Rachel Ann Daquis during the opening ceremonies. The San Miguel Beermen will then be going up against the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the lone game scheduled at 6:30 p.m. The Beermen is shooting for the record books, seeking a fourth consecutive title of the All-Filipino Cup. Top pick Christian Standhardinger won’t be playing until the Second Conference but still, San Miguel is the title favorite with Ginebra San Miguel and TnT as darkhorses.

The next scheduled games will be on Wednesday, December 20 with Kiefer Ravena debuting for NLEX against hopefully, a competitively remodelled and modified KIA. Following that game is the Alaska – Magnolia (formerly Star) match.

The PBA must settle the leadership issue the soonest possible time as they owe it to the fans for their 43 years of existence. An uneasy peace had been reached but this local version of The Game of Thrones has yet to reach its climax.

A possible drama to happen in the Philippine Cup could be that one or two teams which support the

commissioner will supposedly violate league rules and the commish comes down swift and hard, handing suspensions and stiff fines to players, team officials and for good measure, also to some referees. His office will then trumpet his deed and announce to the world that he is just being fair and had never been biased.

Long story short, he keeps his throne and the hatchet will then be uncomfortably buried in each other’s backs. And the PBA continues to sail in troubled waters until it flounders. I do hope not.

This corner longs for the return of the Tanduay and RFM franchises and the entry of Chooks to Go, one of them maybe to take over KIA’s franchise if it continues to have major mechanical breakdowns. An expansion could be the solution to the confusion. Their entry will neutralize the current duopoly that the league is cultivating. Only then can the PBA really bust their lungs and shout “Kampihan na!”

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Calling all Don Bosco Technical High School Batch 1978. You are invited to attend the 40th Batch reunion on January 26, 27 and 28. This is the right time to return, remember, reconnect, reminisce, relate and recreate the happy and carefree high school memories. Some of our brothers have already gone to meet St. John Bosco in person so it is advisable to not wait for another year. We can exchange stories of what medications we are maintaining and of joints that are aching. More details and information posted on the batch Facebook page, Don Bosco Cebu ’78.