Board of govs tackles new PBA direction next season

New PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa and PBA board of governors. Photo from PBA website.

TOKYO—Members of the PBA’s board of governors arrived in this progressive Japanese capital on Sunday afternoon and immediately buckled down to work in establishing  the path Asia’s pioneering pro league will take for the coming season.

Robert Non of San Miguel Beer will be elected chair for the second time since 2012 when he was still with Barangay Ginebra before the meeting that will tackle plans that will be laid out by fellow representatives of team owners.

A marathon meeting was set starting at 5:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Manila Time) as the board decides on, among other things, the format for the coming three-conference season set to open on Oct. 18.

Globalport’s Arejola vice chair Eric Arejola of Globalport will be the new vice-chairman, with Ramoncito Fernandez of NLEX to sit as treasurer.

Patrick Gregorio of PLDT will relinquish his post as chair and will report his achievements during the meeting.

Gregorio and Al Panlilio, the Meralco representative, have been here since last week as part of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas team that lost its bid to host the 2019 Fiba World Cup to China last Friday.

“We’ve long envisioned the PBA as a way of life for the Filipinos and we would like to sustain that attitude by giving the fans what they crave for,” Non said after a late lunch at Tokyo Hilton Hotel.

“I’ve come to expect from the PBA quality games and better interaction from the players,” added Non, under whose stewardship the PBA grossed more than P230 million at the tills in 2012.

Chito Narvasa will face the board as a whole for the first time in his capacity as the new commissioner, and is expected, according to Non, to talk on the current state of officiating and how it can be improved.

“He (Narvasa) will play a crucial part, being in charge of day-to-day operations of the league,” Non said. “And most importantly, the technical aspect where we expect him to work closely with us (board) hand in hand.”