Approving trades toughest part of the job–Narvasa

Former PBA commissioner Andres “Chito” Narvasa said that facilitating players’ trades was the hardest part of the job.

“Whenever you make trades, it’s very, very difficult,” he told Noli Eala, one of his predecessors and the host of the “Power and Play” radio show on Saturday.

“Sometimes, there are things that you can’t share with the public. There are some things [intended] to be discussed only with the [PBA] board [members] for them to be able to understand,” Narvasa added.

“[And then] there are only some things that you can impart to the public. You just have to respect that. That is what it is.

”Narvasa served as the league’s ninth chieftain from Aug. 1, 2015, through his resignation on Dec. 17, 2017, delivering a handful of milestones that included record-breaking gate receipts, while also approving trades that did not sit well with its fans.

The biggest of those was the deal involving powerhouse San Miguel Beer and doormat Columbian for the top pick of the 2017 Draft. That pick turned out to be Christian Standhardinger.

That swap triggered a crisis in the PBA leadership, leaving fissures within the ranks of its governors.

While Narvasa did specify the player trades that he rues, he maintained that such decisions were done in the best interest of the PBA and its fans.

“You have to make sure that first, it’s based on what the rules are, and second, you really believe that it is the right thing to do,“ he said.

“You have to be truthful to yourself. You have to base it on what you believe is really correct,” he said. “You just have to respect also the consequence—what’s going to happen.”

He has moved on since then. And so has the PBA. INQ