Show must go on

Outgoing PBA chairman Mikee Romero. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson

Basketball fans can breathe easy. There will be a 43rd season of the Philippine Basketball Association and it will open as scheduled.

Outgoing league chair Mikee Romero of GlobalPort assured everyone that much in the first major indication by a PBA official that the current impasse in the board of governors won’t hold the league hostage next season.

“Rest assured, the 2018 PBA season will start on Dec. 17,” said Romero, addressing sportswriters and guests during the 2017 PBA Press Corps Annual Awards Thursday night at Gloria Maris Restaurant in Cubao.

The soft-spoken executive has allayed fears of a delay of the next season amid the current dispute among members of the board. Fears were rife that with the board backing two different commissioners, the league’s opening would be pushed back from its original schedule.

But not only did Romero assure that the games will go on, he also promised to cement cracks in the board and unify its members before the start of the 43rd season.

“By next week, we will fix everything. This impasse will come to an end. I [can] confidently say that divisiveness, the impasse will [be] finished next week. Whatever group you’re part of, this will all end,” he vowed.

Seven teams, namely TNT, Meralco, NLEX, Alaska, Rain or Shine, Phoenix and Blackwater, withdrew support from PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa, citing a lack of confidence in his ability to lead the PBA. That bloc appointed deputy commissioner Rickie Santos as league OIC.

But a five-man group composed of San Miguel Beer, Ginebra, Magnolia, GlobalPort and Kia has backed the beleaguered executive through this crisis.

Romero brushed off the dispute and attributed the conflict to the team’s unwavering passion for winning.

“Like a normal family, there will always be problems. We’re all passionate and that’s the reason why we got here. But it’s in the interest of all 12 corporations, all 12 teams to put up a league by Dec. 17,” he said.

The GlobalPort governor also guaranteed that the league is preparing for a booming season opener.

“The PBA is preparing a big opening day. The PBA will be as scheduled and will be business as usual. We will fix this,” he said.