4-MAN SEARCH COMMITTEE FORMED AS LEAGUE SETS RESTRUCTURE
The Philippine Basketball Association Board of Governors has unanimously agreed to review and reorganize the structure of the PBA even as it conducts a search for a “professional” to help draft the criteria for the next commissioner.
In a media briefing, PBA chairman Patrick Gregorio said the Board has decided to add a fourth member in the search committee for the next commissioner during its regular meeting Thursday.
“The [Board] as a group decided that we will invite an independent person, a professional, to be part of the search committee. And we are doing this for the first time to professionalize the search,” Gregorio said.
Gregorio, who represents Talk N Text in the Board, is a member of the search committee that will draft the parameters for the successor of incumbent commissioner Chito Salud, who has announced that he is stepping down after five seasons with the league.
Also working with Gregorio in the committee are Purefoods’ Rene Pardo and Rain or Shine’s Mamerto Mondragon.
Gregorio said the fourth member of the search committee “should not be part of the PBA community.”
Gregorio said the Board will resume discussion on the fourth member of the search committee after the All-Star Weekend. But he stressed the Board want to fast track the review and reorganization of the league so everything will be in place when the next commissioner is named.
“We realize that the PBA now is a very big league. We have the D-League, and in the third conference, we are inviting Asian reinforcements, we have 12 teams, two or three more wanting to join the PBA, and we feel that this is the best time to review and analyze if we should reorganize the structure of the PBA,” the Talk ‘N Text governor said. “Yung pagreview ng istruktura ng PBA, kung ano yung mas akma sa panahon, isasabay na namin.”
The need to reorganize the league is stemmed from the tedious schedule faced by the Commissioner, and the Board has decided to shake up the system to cope with the ever growing league.
“One thing that we realized when we accepted Kia and Blackwater is that it’s not a small investment anymore,” Gregorio said after the two-hour Board meeting at the PBA office in Libis. “All of us agreed to reorganize and review the structure of the PBA.”
Purefoods governor Rene Pardo also added, “The league has grown so much that seemingly, we will overrun yung growth nya. Years ago, there were only six teams sa PBA. Now it has doubled to 12 teams. Then we have the D-League which is also another 12 teams. You could just imagine the life of the commissioner watching two games everyday, go out-of-town, come back on Sunday. It’s a very taxing and stressful process. We feel that this is a good time to check our chain of organizational structure.” (DBC/RL)
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