PBA remains viable, says league exec

THERE are four companies with pending applications to join the Philippine Basketball Association and this, according to chair Robert Non, shows how viable the PBA remains as a sports-entertainment brand in the country.

Non, the San Miguel Beer board representative, did not disclose the identities of the four companies after he was pressed to comment on a statement by Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy who said that the PBA “is an underperforming establishment and organization.”

“We appreciate their (team owners’) comments, their points, their opinions. When they are involved, it’s always a positive for us,” Non said, adding that his reaction was not intended to be a direct answer to Sy’s comments.

With all due respect to the Blackwater owner, Non said: “If we are underachieving, why are there still four teams with applications (to join), like what his team did, when they waited in line.”

Sy’s statement was carried in a sports website report two days ago when he was batting to have team owners sit on the board again and not have it occupied by representatives like Non, GlobalPort’s Erick Arejola and Sy’s brother, Siliman.

Non, who appeared in the briefing with vice chair Arejola and commissioner Chito Narvasa, also pointed out that the league broke its target revenue for the Philippine Cup, even if the season opening was washed out by a typhoon last Oct. 10. Musong R. Castillo