Will commissioner Chito Narvasa retain his post when the Philippine Basketball Association opens its 43rd season next month?
Incoming board chair Ramoncito Fernandez of NLEX had announced in a recent television interview that he and six other PBA governors had decided not to give their approval to renewing the yearly contract of Narvasa.
His reappointment will be among three key issues that will be tackled when the league holds its annual planning session on Nov. 10 to 14 in Los Angeles.
Loss of confidence was cited by Fernandez as the main reason by his seven-man group in thumbing down a third term for Narvasa, who is being urged to stay on by the remaining five members of the board led by San Miguel Beer governor Robert Non.
The NLEX official is supported by his counterparts from Talk ‘N Text, Meralco, Alaska, Rain or Shine, Blackwater and Phoenix. Non’s group include Ginebra, Star, Kia and GlobalPort.
Under PBA rules, a two-thirds board vote of eight is needed for Narvasa to reclaim the post he inherited from Chito Salud in 2015.
Without that majority vote, the league will have to find a caretaker to temporarily run the league unless three members from the Fernandez group changed their minds and opted for Narvasa.
Narvasa said he’s ready to resign knowing the temporary nature of his position, but added he plans to stay on and fight that the proper rules and procedures in his case are followed.
Defying a majority rule won’t help his cause, however.
Fernandez briefly mentioned several reasons why his group wants Narvasa out—dwindling gate receipts, drop in TV ratings and complaints by coaches and players summoned by the commissioner on various game issues.
But the last straw easily was Narvasa’s highly criticized approval of the trade by 2017 season doormat Kia of its top draft pick, the 6-foot-8 Filipino-German Chris Standhardinger, to powerhouse San Miguel Beer, which came close to pulling off a Grand Slam last year.
With the Narvasa issue hanging fire, fans found a source of pride and joy by the decision of 6-11 naturalized player Andray Blatche to reinforce the Nationals again in the coming Asian World Cup qualifying series.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes said Blatche, who begged off from the recent Fiba Asia Cup in Lebanon due to safety concerns, is arriving on Nov. 12 to join the Gilas training camp that opened Friday.
Gilas will take on Japan at the start of the home-and-away Asia World Cup qualifying series in Tokyo on Nov. 24 then play host to Chinese Taipei on Nov. 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Powerhouse Australia is the fourth team in the Gilas’ bracket.