Seven chosen star players will not see action in the PBA All Star Game in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte this weekend due to various injuries.

Neither will coach Chot Reyes be around to coach the Veterans team in the All Star Game against the Rookies, Sophomores and Juniors as he is in San Francisco on a business trip with Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio taking his place.

The list of casualties among the players picked for the All Star Game provides a clear indication of the rough and rugged nature of the just-concluded PBA import reinforced

conference where referees turned a blind eye to clear fouls but at times resorted to calling tacky fouls.

Among those injured and unable to play are Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, Larry Fonacier, Jason Castro and Ranidel de Ocampo of beaten finalists Talk N’ Text, BMeg  champion team member Marc Pingris and popular “Player of the Conference” Mark Caguio of Barangay Ginebra.

With the depleted line-ups in the All Star Game, the main attraction is likely to be the Legends game between the “Stalwarts” and the “Greats” on Friday with former PBA superstars such as four-time MVP Alvin “The Captain” Patrimonio, Allan “Triggerman” Caidic, Kenneth “Captain Marbel” Duremdes, Jojo Lastimosa,  two-time MVP Danny Ildefonso, Johnny Abarrientos, Bong Ravena, Leo Isaacv and Olsen Racela among those seeing action.

Reinforcing the two teams will be  Mac Mac Cardona, Asi Taulava, Jeff Chan,  PJ Simon, Sean Anthony, Cyrus Baguio, Danny Seigle, Nino Canaleta, Willie Miller, Mike Cortez, Sol Mercado and Joseph Yeo

All those with tickets from all sections bought from day one of the semifinals up to the last day of Finals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup will qualify for the raffle promo.

Ticket holders are required to write their name and contact number at the back portion of the ticket and drop it at designated dropboxes located at the entrance gates of the PBA venues – Smart Araneta Coliseum, Ynares Sports Center and Cuneta Astrodome.

That’s not all. Also in store for pro league fans  during the “PBA Anibersaya Fiesta Promo” are two Nintendo WII, 30 gift packs from Adidas, 10 pieces of eyewear from Ideal Vision and 1 Sony cybershot camera.

The raffle will be held on the day after the last game of the Finals.

Winners will be notified by phone while the awarding of prizes will be held on May 7, 2012 at the PBA Office in Libis..

Meanwhile, the league is also encouraging PBA fans to wear their best PBA Retro jerseys every Sunday and be one of the 20 PBA fans to receive gift packs from Soyami chips and Adidas. (endit)

–
Hazel D. Ancheta
PR/Liaison Officer
PHILIPPINE BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
#186 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Libis
Quezon City
(office) 470-2768 to 70 loc 110
(fax)    470-2773

Even as he prayed on bended knees at the Baclaran Church seeking a minor miracle for his gallant band of players, he kept faith with his team and its coaching staff unto the bitter end.

Inspired by JB and the strength of his faith in them, the Powerade players made an amazing run for the championship and although they lost to a decidedly stronger Talk N’ Text team in the finals, they won hundreds of new fans by the sheer magnificence of their performance against overwhelming odds.

Suddenly, after a performance that lifted the image of the Coke franchise in the public mind and pushed its product in the marketplace, the team learned that one of its stars, Marcio Lassiter, was being traded to the San Miguel Corporation franchise Petron Blaze in exchange for Nonoy Baclao and Rey Guevara, two fine young men consigned to the bench for whatever reason.

The trade set off rumors that Powerade had been sold to San Miguel under a so-called “buy back” or right of first refusal option which was part of the agreement when San Miguel sold its shares of stock to Coca Cola Bottlers Inc., a publicly listed company.

It is interesting to note that when the PBA board of governors had to vote on approving the turnover of the franchise by a required two-thirds majority, the board was not appraised of the “buy back” provision which to all intents and purposes was a failure of disclosure and transparency that one would expect in such dealings. As one outspoken governor pointed out, perhaps if we knew of the buy back provision we may not have voted to approve the sale. Maybe yes, maybe no. But the undeniable fact is that since San Miguel Beer already owns three teams and has a reported 49 percent interest in another, an opportunity to re-acquire Powerade would dramatically alter the balance of the league and regrettably drive discerning fans away and lead to the league’s eventual ruin.

This is a fundamental flaw in the PBA of the more recent years  – lack of transparency. But to be sure its not only San Miguel that is guilty of this as most if not all of the other teams have failed the transparency test.

What is particularly galling about the Coke shenanigan is that it is common knowledge both in the PBA board and the sports media that the Lassiter trade was an offshoot of the sale of the Powerade franchise to SMC. No more, no less because coach Bo Perasol would never agree to trade even one of his players from a squad that rose to heights never reached before.

Now here comes Coke’s acting board representative Ronnie Asuncion denying that Powerade had been sold while admitting that indeed there were discussions between the two parties some time ago on the very issue of a buy back. In fact, Asuncion went one step further by saying Powerade hopes to win the next championship.

If that indeed is the goal how in the name of sanity can Powerade justify trading one of its vital players who is No. 3 in statistical points overall for two players whose best moments are spent watching their team from the comfort of the Petron bench. Asuncion and his bosses must think that we who love PBA basketball with a passion are dumb enough to believe their obvious falsehoods. .

One thing for sure, as we mentioned at the press conference following the emergency board meeting called by chairman Atty. Mamerto Mondragon, we will continue our search for a “small lady” who could come forth and tell us the unvarnished truth about whether a sale was consummated or not and if it was, in which bank the P100 million was deposited unless of course its in dollars and covered by the stringent regulations of the law on the sanctity of foreign currency deposits. If the “Small Lady” surfaces will Mr.l Schultz of Coca Cola deny the existence of a memo wherein he admits to a sale?

It turns out, from what we’ve been able to gather, that the top man at Coke, William Schultz is not a big basketball fan and believes that the money spent on the team could be better spent on advertising. Its his call and we cannot deny him that right. But if in the process he has – as one outspoken PBSA governor claimed – lied through his teeth and is found out, then the whole Coca Cola organization will suffer the public backlash.

What is even more painful is that JB Baylon who was to assume the chairmanship of the PBA next season was cruelly denied the privilege after all he had done for the Powerade team and  Coca Cola Bottlers.  Whether JB resigned voluntarily or was forced into such action is immaterial because its been consummated.

To us, personally, there have been too many instances where good and decent Filipinos have been victims of ugly Americans. As he leaves Powerade behind and accepts the painful reality of having to find a new home to express his love for basketball and to demonstrate his sterling qualities,  let us drink a toast to a good and decent man – JB Baylon. And please make mine Pepsi!

Powerade coach Bo Perasol who steered his underdog team to an amazing run in the PBA All Filipino Conference upsetting fancied squads en route to a finals showdown with powerhouse squad and eventual champions Talk N’ Text is against the planned trade of outstanding rookie Marcio Lassiter.

Originally, the trade of Lassiter for Nonoy Baclao and Rey Guevara of Petron was tabled following reports that San Miguel Corporation had exercised its buy-back option for the franchise which was supposedly sold for P100 million.

Despite persistent reports that the sale had been consummated the Coca Cola Bottlers president William Schultz denied the reports and acting board representative Ronnie Asuncion who replaced former governor and PBA vice chairman JB Baylon insisted during a special board meeting on Monday that  ”no sale has been made and the Powerade “Tigers” continue to be under the ownership, management and control of Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc.”

Perasol said “If there has been no sale why in the world will we trade anybody from our team which just came out of a championship? I am not recommending any trades.”

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud told the Manila Standard that his “main concern as commissioner is to find out whether or not a sale was consummated between Coke and San Miguel because if one was consummated then those two parties would be related parties and therefore no trade between them could ever be allowed under current rules.”

Salud said that having established that no sale was consummated these two teams can now make trades. However, the Commissioner said “ Upon evaluation of the trades that is now before my office, I am exercising my right to veto the trade, return the trade to the parties concerned for possible revisions to make it more balanced.”

In response to a question from the Manila Standard on whether the the PBA board was informed of the  “buy back and first refusal option” between San Miguel and Coke when the franchise was first sold to Coke, Commissioner Salud said “As a matter of record, no. And this was discussed in the board. That right of first refusal that was granted to the San Miguel group when the shares of stock was acquired by the Bottlers from San Miguel , is not on file with us.”

This revelation raised what two board members claimed were serious breaches of non-disclosure and transparency, one of whom told the Standard “If they had told us about the provision  we may have not approved  the sale of the franchise to Powerade.”

Salud clarified that the sale, transfer or  assignment of a franchise will only be valid upon the approval of two-thirds of the board so regardless of a right of first refusal that exists between two parties, that right does not necessarily bind the board of governors into approving a sale between them.”

Asuncion said Coke plans to stay in the PBA “as long as it takes to win a championship” even as he predicted “Powerade will win the next conference, but please don’t misconstrue it as an eagerness to exit the league.”

However, Asuncion disclosed that “there was a discussion and interest was shown but no sale has been completed. As long as there is no meeting of the minds of both parties no sale can be made.”

What has long been bruited about was officially announced Sunday by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President and Talk N’ Text Owner Manny Pangilinan -Talk N’ Text Coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes will be the new Head Coach of the Philippine National Men’s basketball team - also known as Smart Gilas.

Reyes replaces Rajko Toroman who has since leaving Smart Gilas signed up as a consultant to the San Miguel Corporation basketball teams.

In a statement Pangilinan said “While we are extremely happy with Chot’s performance with our TNT team these past years, our duty to flag and country dictates that we engage the right person for this important national position.  After having been Gilas' assistant coach for the past two years, and with a sterling track record as Coach, I believe Chot deserves this appointment.”

The SBP president said Reyes “will continue to be the Head Coach of the Talk N’ Text team until the end of the current PBA season, which will happen sometime in August. Thereafter, Chot will concentrate full time on preparing Gilas for the 2013 FIBA-Asia tournament, which is the qualifying competition for the FIBA World Championships to be held in Spain in 2014."

The businessman-sportsman also announced that Reyes had been appointed d Executive Director of the MVP Sports Foundation, ”the umbrella organization of our group's over-all effort in sports promotion and development."

As a result of Reyes’s appointment as Smart Gilas head coach, Pangilinan  also announced that Ateneo Coach Norman Black will take over as TNT Head Coach beginning the 2013 PBA season, after the UAAP 2012 basketball season is over. Black is aiming to steer the Ateneo Seniors team to an unprecedented “5-peat” in this year’s UAAP competition.

Chot Reyes has piloted the Tropang Texters to five (5) Finals in his eight (8) conferences with the team, winning four (4) titles in this span.  TNT has gone to the last four (4) Finals, and aims to be in its fifth straight finals appearance in the on-going PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The much talked about if somewhat controversial trade of former Smart Gilas national team wingman and Powerade star Marcio Lassiter to Petron for Noy Baclao and Rey Guevara hasn’t been acted upon by PBA Commissioner Chito Salud.

Following a special board meeting of the pro league governors which couldn’t push through because five of the ten board members failed to show up thereby forcing a lack of quorum, Salud said that while the papers on the trade were in his office he is “not inclined to take action on the trade until official word regarding media reports on the supposed sale (of Powerade to San Miguel Corporation) is obtained.”

Salud noted that the five board members who failed to attend the special board meeting had “sent excuses” forcing  Chairman Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine to  reset the special boared meeting to February 20 to tackle the issue of the status of Powerade and whether indeed the franchise has been sold to San Miguel.

Significantly, the governors who failed to attend were from the four SMC-owned teams, vice chairman JB Baylon of Coca Cola (Powerade) and Barako Bull in which it is rumored that San Miguel has a 49 percent stake with original owner George Chua owning 51 percent.

Those present aside from chairman Mondragon were the representatives of the two teams owned by businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan – Pato Gregorio of Talk N’ Text and Mon Segismundo of Meralco, former chairman Joaqui Trillo of Alaska and Al Villadolid of Air 21.

Salud said that he will communicate with Coca-Cola “to obtain clarification on the media reports regarding the sale of the Coca-Cola franchise.”

He said “We are sending out the notices of the special meeting by today along with my communication to Coca-Cola president and CEO William Schultz for them to state their position on the persistent media reports on the alleged sale of the Coca-Cola franchise.”

The PBA Commissioner also disclosed that in the same letter he was seeking “ a clarification from Mr. Schultz on the status of our vice chairman Mr. J.B. BAylon whether or not he remains the governor/representative of Coca-Cola or whether he has been replaced.”

Salud concluded “ Until I get a clear picture of what is happening here… And this for the sake of transparency and full disclosure, I will not take action on the trade.”

The Manila Standard understands that when San Miguel sold its Coca Cola franchise it included a “buy back” provision which meant that in case Coke wanted to sell the franchise, SMC would have the option to re-acquire the franchise which, according to persistent media reports, had been offered to San Miguel president Ramon Ang for P100 million.

Among the questions expected to be raised is whether the PBA board was made aware of the buy back provision at the time it approved the transfer of the franchise from SMC to Coca Cola.

It is also believed that under such a buy back option, Coca Cola has to first offer the Powerade franchise to any interested buyers and only then can San Miguel either match or exceed an offer by a potential buyer or buy back the franchise in case there were no offers.

The San Miguel Beermen coached by PBA seven-time “Best Import” Bobby Parks   suffered a disappointing loss in their debut in the Air Asia Asean Basketball League to the Westports Malaysia Dragons in a game where the Malaysian squad finished stronger to win a game that was a thriller all the way, 83-77.

The “Dragons” banked on the solid game of imports Brian Williams and Tiras Wade who combined for a total of 54 points while the San Miguel imports Darlon Lamar Johnson and Richard Jeter could only combine for 28 points although the imports together with high-flying Junmar Fajardo wowed the Malaysian hometown fans with several slam dunks.

The Beermen led at the end of a tight first quarter 25-23 before increasing the lead to 37-29 with 3:40 to play in the second quarter.

A rim-rattling slam dunk by Williams saw the Dragons end the first half behind by seven points, 35-42 with the Beermen getting clutch baskets from Leo Avenino and JunJun Cabatu to stay ahead.

The San Miguel halftime lead was quickly wiped out as the Dragons behind the fired up import tandem of Wade and Williams scored 11 straight points to eventually tie the score at 50-50 with 4:00  minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Williams scored in the paint to push the Dragons ahead and with solid defense from former Ginebra player Ernani Pacana and local boy Guganeswaran Batumalai the hometown team edged in front 59-57 going into the final quarter.

Jeter regained the lead for the Beermen with a triple 60-59 before San Miguel Beer increased the lead to four points at 71-67.

Tiras Wade sank two pressure-packed free throws to even the score at 73-73 and force an extension.

Pacana opened the overtime period with a quick jumper while at the other end Junmar Fajardo missed two free throws.

Another former Beerman in the PBA, Nic Belasco cushioned the Dragons lead with a basket but Johnson quickly replied to bring the Beermen to within 2.

Another big basket by Belasco pushed the Dragons ahead by four points and after Avenindo missed an open three-point attempt Wade sealed the win for the Dragons by calmly sinking two free throws for the 83-77 win.

Tiras Jamaal Wade led all scorers with 28 points to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while teammate Brian Michael Williams finished with a monster double-double scoring 26 points and pulling down 23 rebounds. He also had 3 assists.

The San Miguel Beermen were led by Darlon Jamar Johnson who finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 bassists and 3 steals while Richard Jeter ended with 11 points and only 2 rebounds.

Fajardo contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, Benedict Fernandez had 8 points and Jun Jun Cabatu 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

Fiery Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao is convinced his team has what it takes to beat Powerade in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal showdown beginning Jan. 4 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Guiao told the PBA website “I feel really good the way we’re playing. I think we can take on Powerade in a seven-game series.”

Guiao and his Elasto Painters have a right to be optimistic following their exciting campaign capped by an impressive two-game sweep of the Barangay Ginebra Kings in their quarterfinals match-up.

Despite his confidence, Guiao won’t take Powerade under coach Bo Perasol for granted.

He said “You have to respect what Powerade has achieved. They’re peaking at the right time and we have to address their strength at the point guard and the wing positions.”

Guiao was referring to scoring rookie Smart Gilas national team member JV Casio, scoring machine Gary David and rookie Marcio Lassiter another member of the Philippine national team who he believes can be very dangerous.

While Guiao knows what David can do he also feels comfortable that he has defensive stoppers to stifle the Powerade shooting star.

Guiao pointed out “We have tall and quick players to match up with David,”referring to 6-foot-4 Gabe Norwood, 6-foot-1 guards Ryan Arana and Jireh Ibañez.

The ROS coach recalled that his defenders did a good job on David, limiting him 14 points when the Elasto Painters overcame the Tigers, 96-93, in their elimination-round meeting last Oct. 9.

Guiao believes his team can fare as well in the other match-ups.

Overall, Guiao is comfortable with the thought that the Elasto Painters have evolved into a fighting unit that can make the finals.

Guiao whose uncanny ability to mould individual players into a fiercely competitive squad which effectively reflects his own character said  “It’s gratifying to see the team transform and acquire the toughness to perform at this level. The guys have settled down to embracing our system the same way the old Red Bull team embraced our system and team philosophy. Everyone is equal and there are no superstars,” said Guiao.

Rookie Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, JR Quinahan and Norwood are among the team’s lead lights, all four being in the top 24 in the league’s stats race.

Chan leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points a game, Lee paces the squad in assists (4.5) and in steals (0.9), Quinahan is tops in rebounds (6.4) and in blocks (1.3) while Norwood has solid all-around norms of 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steal and 0.4 block.

The team also boasts of the inside presence of Beau Belga, Larry Rodriguez and Jervy Cruz and the backcourt contribution of TY Tang.

Santos, with his regular double-double showing, leads all players in the statistical points (SPs) race with an average of 38.63 a game.

The 6-foot-4 former FEU stalwart is six points clear of No.2 contender Kelly Williams of Talk n Text which gives Santos a solid chance to become the first player in seven years to win back-to-back Best Player of the Conference awards.

Ginebra’s Eric Menk was the last player to do achieve the fear in the 2004-05 Fiesta Conference which was regarded as a transition tournament,  and the succeeding Philippine Cup.

Also on the strength of his double-digit norms in scoring and in rebounding, Santos won the coveted individual award in the most recent Governors Cup.

The wiry forward has not slowed down a bit, averaging 18.3 points and 12.3 rebounds as he powered Petron to a third-place finish in the elims and to a two-game sweep of Meralco in the quarterfinals.

Santos leads the conference in rebounds and is fourth in scoring behind shooting stars Gary David (22.5), James Yap (19.0) and Chris Lutz (18.33).

Williams, the 2008 MVP, puts in 32.92 SPs a game for second place in the BPC derby.

Another key player in the Petron roster, guard Alex Cabagnot is at third with 31.88 SPs an outing, followed by B-Meg’s James Yap (31.38), TnT’s Harvey Carey (30.77), Powerade’s Gary David (30.69), TnT’s Jason Castro (30.64), Powerade’s Marcio Lassiter (29.94), Barako Bull’s Willie Miller (28.80) and Alaska’s Sonny Thoss (28.50).

Rain or Shine’s explosive rookie Paul Lee is just outside the Top 10 with 28.27 SPs a game.

Lee is the stats leader in the Rain or Shine team with averages of 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.9 steal.

The top five in the stats race after the semifinal round contest the BPC awards in a balloting. The winner then automatically becomes a contender for the season’s MVP award.

David, Yap, Lutz and Santos are running one-two-three-four in the scoring race, followed by Lassiter (16.25), Miller (15.9), Castro (15.64), Jeff Chan (15.5), Thoss (15.36) then Macmac Cardona (15.33).

Santos is No. 1 in rebounds, followed by Carey (11.154), Doug Kramer (10.688), Jayr Reyes (10.071), Asi Taulava (9.338), Ali Peek (9.833), James Sena (9.429), Thoss (9.357), Gabby Espinas (9.125) and Williams (8.917).

Santos, Carey and Kramer are the only players averaging double-double numbers in the tourney.

Cabagnot has shown uncanny ability in terms of spotting his teammates and leads in assists with 6.7 assists per game, Lutz is the leader in steals with 2.0 an outing while high-flying, dunking demon Japeth Aguilar is No. 1 in blocks with 2.2 a game.

The Philippine Basketball Association which is currently enjoying a renewed public interest and support as evidenced by an increase in “live” attendance at the games, gate receipts and television ratings has shown its got a heart by donating P1 million to the relief efforts for the victims of typhoon “Sendong.”

Hardest hit were the cities of Cagayan de Oro where the PBA plays some of its out-of-town games and Iligan City.

The PBA board of governors headed by its chairman Atty.  Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine ordered the immediate release of the calamity donation exclusively for the relief operations for victims of the terrible flash floods.

The donation was approved by the representatives of the ten member corporations.

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud said “The entire PBA family is deeply saddened by the tragedy that hit our brothers bin Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.”

Salud said “The PBA will always be responsive to the needs of our less fortunate countrymen.”

The Commissioner disclosed that in addition to its P1 million donation the PBS had also allocated P100,000 for its partner Gawad Kalinga with instructions that the money be used to build homes for those who were affected by the disaster.

Some 10,000 homes were reportedly badly hit by the floods and mudslides.