INTACT AT 50
LAS VEGAS—There were no surprises on Tuesday night here as the same old team will steer the PBA to what it expects to be its most glorious season and the foreseeable next ones after this.
Ricky Vargas was elected to a record-extending ninth term as chairman of the board of governors, with Alfrancis Chua and lawyer Raymond Zorrilla retaining their posts as vice chair and treasurer, respectively.
And Willie Marcial, the Batangas native who healed the board when it was divided close to a decade back, has been given the unanimous nod to serve as commissioner for the ninth straight season—which could be the most special in his watch, this being the PBA’s golden year.
Naming those people to the vital posts was one of the early things agreed upon during the annual planning session of the board that started on Tuesday morning at MGM Grand.
The board also reported that the NorthPort sale to Pureblends is nearing completion, that Terrafirma will stay and has promised to be competitive, and that the league almost broke its all-time revenue mark after making around P193 million last season.
The PBA raked in gross ticket sales of P547 million and saw its audience reach jump from 16.9 million in Season 48 to something around 22.3 million last season.
“Our challenge this season is to duplicate that,” Vargas told a select group of reporters during a break in the marathon session attended by all but one representative of team owners. “This being our 50th Season, which we want to make special, I’m sure our expenses will shoot up.”
NorthPort attended Draft proceedings last Sunday, but Vargas said that “talks are very serious and if all documents are perfected, it could happen anytime. It could be that before opening (on Sept. 5), we will have a new team.”
Sources say that the franchise price to acquire the Batang Pier is around P85-P90 million.
The Terrafirma issue has been a ticklish one, since the team was very open in declaring that it was selling its franchise. Negotiations with two big entities broke down, although Marcial said that there continues to be inquiries.
Only Bobby Rosales of Terrafirma is not present here.
