Sports World Magazine
November 23, 1974
Beth Celis
At last, they’re forming a professional basketball league.
Good. Now there is a chance to restore morality to Philippine basketball.
The eight breakaway MICAA teams – Mariwasa, Crispa, Toyota, YCO, Concepcion, U/Tex, Seven-Up, and CFC – led by no less than the association’s former president (Domingo Itchon of YCO) and current president (Mariwasa’s Emerson Coseteng) have declared they’re going pro in order to “clarify” the status of their players and of the league itself.
The BAP, on the other hand, wants a “transition” period. In other words, they want more time under the status quo.
And the BAP argument is based on their fear, a valid one, of course, that national representation will suddenly become much weaker until stronger amateurs can be developed by a more competent development program.
The argument is couched in moral terms, naturally. One side speaks of “honesty,” the other of “patriotism.”
But we all know that the breakaway MICAA teams simply, finally got fed up with the BAP’s honing in on the playing time of the best MICAA players. And playing time means money at the gate and from TV.
Remember when the BAP wanted to ban the champion ABC players from playing in the MICAA from December, 1973 to July, 1974 because the BAP said, they wanted to keep training the team for the Puerto Rico games? That would have been eight months of fundraising games for the BAP.
The MICAA hasn’t issued any income announcements, but the players know that its take went down this year owing to frequent BAP requisitions of playing time.
So, if you go behind the value-attached terminology (such as “amateurism” and “patriotism”), what you get is a struggle over income between the MICAA teams and the BAP. And the BAP, it turns out, will be the loser since its position is basically parasitic and usurping.
Doming Itchon told us that it won’t take six months before the pro league gets going. They’re waiting for the papers from the NBA so they’ll profit from the American experience. But at the same time, their local preparations are also quite advanced. As he says, it won’t take six months.
One good sign is that the organizers are concerned over the moral aspects of pro basketball. According to Itchon, they would want the players to consult their lawyers before signing contracts with their respective teams.
This is the current attitude. The overwhelming majority of MICAA players want a professional league, but there are also others who have a wait and see attitude. Their reason?
“If the terms of our contract with a pro team are just going to be the same as with the MICAA teams at present, there will be no improvement really.”
This is from a leader among the players.
But it seems that the pro league’s organizers, judging from Mr. Itchon’s statement, are out to do justice to the players.
That’s a very crucial point. It should lay the basis for a moral attitude towards every other aspect of pro basketball in the Philippines. Another word would be “honesty” – it should be an honest to goodness professional league and not just an escape from the clutches of the BAP.
Nobody could really complain about certain irregularities in the MICAA, or in other amateur leagues, for that matter. An organization, for example, could not be criticized for recruiting only mediocre players. And players could not be concretely faulted for holding back. After all, there are more “important” things than amateur play.
But a pro league will be different. A much higher standard of competence and, yes, morality will be demanded by the public. For the public will be paying for entertainment. Juan Dela Cruz in the bleachers will be a customer, not just a spectator as in amateur sports.
That will mean he will have a right to demand more balanced teams, better conditioned players, more knowledgeable coaches, better officiating, better coliseum facilities, more competent league leadership (such as keeping of statistics), more professional behavior from the players, etc.
The public will henceforth be paying customers. They’ll be more demanding than the present “audience” who can’t really kick about shortcomings in “amateur” circumstances.
In short, there will be a morality to professional basketball, the obligation to give a good and honest show. Since this is basketball country, I’m betting that the pro league will do a good job.
The technical level of basketball will improve, just as the NBA has raised the level not only in the United States but all over the world. We’ll be seeing the exciting return of imported American players. Playing for real money, the pros will have to be and they will be better (At present, the only truly full-time team is the Crispa Redmanizers).
From the point of view of basketball, we like what’s coming. In less than six months.