PBA execs tenures set for review, revisions

LAS Vegas—The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will ratify its constitution and bylaws when its board of governors planes back home next week.

Foremost among the items will be the tenures of the commissioner and the chair.

The old practice has been for the chair to serve one term before passing the baton to the vice chair, according to a succession determined by the board.

When the changes in the bylaws are made, the PBA will allow the sitting chair to seek reelection while the governor who is next in line awaits his turn.

As for the commissioner, the PBA departed last season from its old practice of giving the man in charge just a year to serve before his performance is evaluated if he could continue or not.

Also up is a continued push to take the league closer to the fans as the PBA goes digital while making live games a greater experience to watch.

“We will improve our loyalty program and we will be putting up more in-venue activities,” commissioner Willie Marcial said. “We’ll make PBA games a thrill for all those who come.”

In appointing Marcial early this year after the turbulent term of Chito Narvasa, the board decided to give the commissioner a three-year mandate to “heal the wounds” within the board, something that happened when the body was divided by several Narvasa decisions.

The rift was apparent in the board’s annual planning session last year in Los Angeles, when the four-day gathering was reduced to an ordinary vacation as team representatives didn’t see eye to eye.

Now that Marcial has done the healing, the league will return to its old practice and start evaluating the commissioner after his contract ends in 2020.