Willie Marcial. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Willie Marcial, the longtime media bureau chief turned PBA commissioner, admitted that he was overwhelmed when he got the nod to lead Asia’s first pay-for-play league.
But he vowed to try his earnest to fulfill his duties, starting by making sure the PBA Governors are on the same page anew following the PBA’s controversial chapter which led to the departure of former commissioner Chito Narvasa.
“For the Board, I hope we’ll all get along. If we won’t get a long, the PBA won’t work, so that’s what we want to do,” he said.
The 56-year-old Marcial, who has served the league for more than three decades before his appointment, still couldn’t believe that the Board entrusted him such a huge responsibility.
“I really thank the Board because it’s a huge honor that I never expected. A lot of people have wanted to get this job, but it fell on us. As hard as we tried to evade the job, it still ended up on us. So maybe, it’s God’s will. We’ll just do our best,” he said.
Marcial’s earlier moves as the league’s officer-in-charge to start the 43rd season has been greatly praised in the boardroom and has been much appreciated by the fans.
He formed a five-man committee to tackle transactions between teams, allowed more physicality to be observed during the games, and has also extended the basketball superstars to the streets by making surprise visit to the barangays with PBA Homecourt.
In his first act as a commissioner, Marcial has also solidified the league’s support to Gilas Pilipinas as he convinced the Board of Governors to allow all players to be made available for national team duty moving forward.
The cordial executive, however, knows that the work is just getting started as he seeks to further improve the style of play in the PBA and to bring the league back to the fans.
“We’re focusing on implementing changes in officiating. We want our product to be more appealing and to draw the league closer to the fans,” Marcial said.