Philippine PBA Trades, Releases, Sign-ups, Rumours (vol. III)

[nardy]

Headless Tigers? PBA seeks clarification on Powerade leadership issue

Reynaldo Belen, InterAKTV · Friday, February 10, 2012 · 9:31 pm


AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan



Before Friday’s scheduled meeting of the PBA Board of Governors to discuss issues surrounding the Powerade Tigers, the team’s alternate governor Manny Dizon had already confirmed his attendance.


But come the day of the meeting, Dizon was absent. The scheduled meet was reset to February 20 because of a lack of quorum, with officials from Barako Bull, Petron Blaze, B-MEG, and Barangay Ginebra unable to show up as well.


According to a source inside the PBA, Dizon was prevented by Coca-Cola officials from attending.


In a statement, PBA commissioner Chito Salud said that the PBA governors who were absent advised him of their excuses for missing the meeting.


But Salud said that he is seeking clarification about the leadership status of the Tigers when it comes to PBA matters. He wrote a letter to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. chairman William Schultz asking about Powerade team executive JB Baylon, “whether or not he remains the governor/representative of Coca-Cola or whether he has been replaced.”


Baylon, who is currently vice-chairman of the PBA board, is Director for Public Affairs and Communications of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, the Philippine branch office of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a separate entity from CCBPI, which owns the Powerade Tigers PBA franchise.


The PBA board meeting was supposed to discuss reports of the sale of the Powerade franchise to the San Miguel Corporation. The board was also supposed to tackle the pending trade between the Tigers and the Petron Blaze Boosters, which is owned by SMC.


A meeting between Salud and officials of Coke is scheduled on Monday. Salud said that he had already written a letter to Schultz “to state their position on the persistent media reports on the alleged sale of the Coca-Cola franchise.”

[nardy]

SMC official blasts PBA governors

Jaemark Tordecilla, InterAKTV · Friday, February 10, 2012 · 10:43 pm


A San Miguel Corporation sports official on Friday put members of the PBA Board of Governors on blast for “crab mentality” on his Twitter account.


“Tired of this pathetic crab mentality of some PBA Governors,” wrote former league commissioner Noli Eala, who now serves as an executive for SMC’s sports program.




While Eala did not mention any reason for his outburst, the conglomerate has been involved in controversy in recent days after reports came out that the Powerade Tigers franchise has been sold to SMC. The Philippine Daily Inquirer last week reported that a sale has been consummated, which has been denied by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., the company that owns the team.


On Thursday, InterAKTV obtained and posted a document that shows that CCBPI offered the PBA franchise for sale to SMC.


Amid heavy speculation about the status of the Tigers squad, Powerade this week submitted a trade to the PBA that would send star rookie Marcio Lassiter to the Petron Blaze Boosters, which is owned by SMC, in exchange for Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra.


The trade proposal came as a surprise as the Tigers are coming off a surprise appearance in the Philippine Cup finals. Lassiter played a major role for Powerade, ranking third in the whole league in statistical points.

Officials of other PBA teams blasted the trade, questioning the circumstances of the transaction amid reports of the Powerade sale.


The PBA board on Friday was set to meet to discuss issues surrounding the Powerade sale, but the meeting was reset for February 20 due to failure to reach quorum. Representatives from SMC teams B-MEG, Barangay Ginebra, and Petron were unable to show up for the meeting.


Also absent from the meeting were representatives from Powerade and Barako Bull.


Because of the meeting’s postponement, PBA commissioner Chito Salud has put the trade on hold.

[nardy]

Plot Thickens In Powerade 'Sale'

By TITO S. TALAO

February 10, 2012, 10:25pm




MANILA, Philippines — PBA Commissioner Chito Salud appears to be himself cluelesss regarding the reported sale of the Coca-Cola/Powerade franchise to San Miguel and has gone directly to the person who can shed light on the matter.

This will be William Schultz, chairman and CEO of Cosmos and Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, whom he has sent a letter asking whether the Powerade franchise had indeed been sold to San Miguel.


A meeting called by PBA chairman Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine yesterday which also sought clarification ended without any substantive conclusion because there was no meeting at all as representatives identified with San Miguel begged off. The meeting was then called off for lack of quorum.


“In the spirit of transparency and full disclosure, and to serve our fans’ best interest, I’m writing to Coca-Cola to seek clarification on the persistent media reports,” said Salud. “We want them to state their official position.”


Salud also wanted to know the status of Mr. JB Baylon if he remains the team’s representative to the PBA board or if he has been replaced.


Baylon, the PBA vice chairman and governor of the Powerade Tigers, was absent from yesterday’s special board meeting.


Present in yesterday’s meeting, besides Mondragon, were Talk ‘N Text’s Patrick Gregorio, Meralco’s Ramon Segismundo, Air21’s Al Villadolid and Alaska’s Joaqui Trillo.


Absent were Barangay Ginebra’s Robert Non, Petron’s Ely Capacio, B-Meg’s Pardo, and Barako Bull’s representative.


The meeting has been reset for Feb. 20, also at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.


"I ascribe to good faith that their reasons are valid for not being able to make it," Salud said.


Although a paper trail has developed regarding the sale, Salud still wanted to get the information direct from the Coke’s top Philippine official.


Schultz reportedly offered the franchise to San Miguiel in a letter dated Nov. 11, 2011 addressed to SMC president Ramon S. Ang. In the letter, Schultz reportedly mentioned a Feb. 2007 agreement between the two companies, giving SMC the right to purchase the Coke franchise should it be up for sale.


The letter, apparently not made known to Baylon, triggered the whole media frenzy.


Schultz‘s letter quoted an amount of P100 million as franchise price, with a "60-day" ultimatum set for SMC to “exercise its right of first refusal” to buy the team.


Should SMC fail to respond or accept the offer, the letter said, “then you shall be deemed to have expressly Marianowaived your right of first refusal, and the Company can now offer the PBA franchise to third parties under the same terms offered to you.”


San Miguel has been mum about the offer and an official identified with the comapny, Barangay Ginebra’s Non, the league treasurer, said that no such sale had been consummated.


“Kuryente yan,” said Non, which in journalistic parlance means, not true.


Salud also withold decision on the proposed trade that would have sent Powerade’s Marcio Lassiter to
Petron Blaze for 2010 No. 1 draft pick Nonoy Baclao and forward Rey Guevarra.

[durden_tyler]

If the trade does not push through i feel for Powerade, their plans and their chemistry, for how could you play with the right mindset (despite your performance last time) with a dark cloud hanging over your head?

If you're a player...

You know you're being sold by end of the year
Your teammate (a key cog) was to be let go for peanuts

If you're Baylon...

Now you can't trade your key cogs to other teams for cash because the commissioner is watching.

The only winner on the Powerade squad? Gary David with his maximum contract

[el scorcho]

Damn, my favorite teams (Petron and La Lakers) had their trades rescinded (or stopped) by their league commish...UGGGH!!!

[neo]

Damn, my favorite teams (Petron and La Lakers) had their trades rescinded (or stopped) by their league commish...UGGGH!!!

lol, salud just put it on hold, not stopped or prevented (although chances are he will order a revision of the trade if ever it pushes through).

[Jordan Bruiseter]

If the trade does not push through i feel for Powerade, their plans and their chemistry, for how could you play with the right mindset (despite your performance last time) with a dark cloud hanging over your head?...

Reminds me of the Hornets a couple of years back. Unfortunate indeed.

***

If anyone was able to watch the Green vs. Blue game, it was very easy to see why La Salle won - they were enjoying themselves, and perhaps enjoying being on the same team with Pumaren again.

It was heard that since Franz became HC of a PBA team, a lot of his former wards were giving him a call. Most vocal in their desire to play with him are Cardona, Tang, and Yeo. But alas, due to salary constraints and the "Chinese" connection (in the cases of Yeo and Tang), we might not see it coming to fruition in the near future.

A pity, I'd say.

[killmebusy]

Reminds me of the Hornets a couple of years back. Unfortunate indeed.

***

If anyone was able to watch the Green vs. Blue game, it was very easy to see why La Salle won - they were enjoying themselves, and perhaps enjoying being on the same team with Pumaren again.

It was heard that since Franz became HC of a PBA team, a lot of his former wards were giving him a call. Most vocal in their desire to play with him are Cardona, Tang, and Yeo. But alas, due to salary constraints and the "Chinese" connection (in the cases of Yeo and Tang), we might not see it coming to fruition in the near future.

A pity, I'd say.

More importantly, it was evident that at this point of their careers tenorio is better than casio...

[nardy]

In Huddle

Powerade puzzle still unsolved

By Beth Celis
Philippine Daily Inquirer 10:27 pm | Saturday, February 11th, 2012


I wonder what prompted PBA Commissioner Chito Salud to ask Coke management for a clarification of JB Baylon’s status in the PBA Were there indications that JB is no longer Coke’s representative to the PBA board? During last Friday’s press conference following the aborted emergency board meeting called by chair Mamerto Miranda, the commissioner said he was going to ask Coca-Cola president and CEO William Schultz not only for a clarification on the reported sale of the Coca-Cola franchise to San Miguel Corp., but also on the current status of JB Baylon as Coke governor to the PBA.
“Is he still the PBA board representative, or has he been replaced?” Commissioner Chito wanted to know.
***
For a while, JB had freely entertained interviews from media, openly expressing his views about the widespread report on the sale of the Coke franchise.
Then suddenly, all was quiet on the Coke front. JB was no longer answering phone calls and text messages. Somebody else from Coke, who was unknown to scribes covering the PBA beat, was now making statements for the franchise.
Had JB been silenced by higher management for speaking his mind out?
***
The basketball community was hoping to get some answers after Friday’s board meeting, but it was aborted for lack of quorum.
Only five governors showed up headed by Chair Mondragon of Rain or Shine. The others were Al Villadolid of Air21, Joaqui Trillo of Alaska, Pato Gregorio of Talk ‘N Text and Mon Segismundo of Meralco.
There were no representatives from Powerade, Barako Bull, Ginebra, Petron and Derby Ace.
The PBA community is speculating that JB’s openness to media may have sparked a conflict between him and Schultz, producing adverse results.
At any rate, Commissioner Salud should get an answer to his query when the board reconvenes on Feb. 20.
Will JB be at this meeting? Or maybe the question should be, will Coke have a representative in this meeting?
* * *
If he was affected by the tumult within his team, Coke franchise player Gary David didn’t show any sign. Gary said during a recent press conference hosted by AKTV that he goes through his usual routine, coming to practice early and doing at least an extra 300 shots every workout. Gary was voted Best Player of the last conference and his coach Bo Perasol said he has evolved from a backup guard to a full-fledged scoring superstar. “What he has become right now is the product of his tireless work ethic before, during, and after any basketball season. He spends countless hours in the gym to strengthen his body in preparation for the rigors of a tournament. His shooting skill is the result of daily postpractice drills.” Nobody asked Gary about the status of his team, which recently signed him to a three-year 15.1 million contract.

[nardy]

Basketball

‘Powerade Tigers still under Coke management, Baylon still governor’

Reynaldo Belen, InterAKTV · Saturday, February 11, 2012 · 5:38 pm


AKTV/Paolo Papa



The Powerade Tigers are still under management of Coca-Cola.


Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. communications director Cat Avelino made the pronouncement Saturday amid questions by the PBA over the status of the franchise.



On Friday, PBA commissioner Chito Salud wrote a letter asking about the team’s status to William Schultz, chairman of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., which owns the Powerade franchise.


Concerns were raised by the league amid reports that the team had been sold to the San Miguel Corporation. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported last week that a sale is a done deal, a story denied by CCBPI. But InterAKTV on Thursday obtained and posted a document showing that the franchise was offered for sale to SMC last November.


More questions were raised by PBA officials over the ownership status of Powerade after the team agreed to trade one of its best players, Marcio Lassiter, to Petron Blaze in exchange for Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra. Petron is the flagship franchise of SMC.


PBA rules prohibit teams owned by the same company from trading directly.


‘Baylon still governor’


In his letter to Schultz, Salud also asked about the status of Powerade team executive JB Baylon in the team’s management. Baylon represents the Tigers on the PBA Board of Governors, where he serves as vice-chairman.


Salud asked whether Baylon “remains the governor/representative of Coca-Cola or whether he has been replaced.”


The league scheduled a board meeting on Friday to discuss issues surrounding Powerade, but Baylon did not show up. The Tigers’ alternate governor Manny Dizon was also absent.


The meeting was rescheduled as the board were unable to reach quorum, with representatives from Barako Bull, B-MEG, Petron, and Barangay Ginebra also not showing up.


In a text message to InterAKTV, Baylon refused to comment about his status with the team.


“I think it’s better for the PBA to ask [Coke management],” Baylon wrote.


But Avelino said that Baylon still remains part of the team’s management.


“JB is still our board governor,” she said in a telephone interview.


Baylon is Director for Public Affairs and Communications of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, the Philippine branch office of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a separate entity from CCBPI.

[digitalsuperman]

im not actually forwarding an argument but more of clarifying.my position is that sale or just "sale" (agreement, intent), smc did not do anything wrong as it is a practice to get into that agreement before putting it for approval of the board. i believe smc did not do anything illegal (whatever kind of deal they had with coke). the hotter issue, even among the other governors, is not really sale or impending sale of coke's franchise to smc but more of the possibilities of internal movement of players between 2 teams who are parties to a sale/impending sale.

i didn't say smc is doing illegal. argument as of now is that the board wants a clarrification if indeed smc bought coke's franchise. if indeed is true, and im not saying its true. then repercusions would be that smc cannot own more than 3 franchise.

[neo]

i didn't say smc is doing illegal. argument as of now is that the board wants a clarrification if indeed smc bought coke's franchise. if indeed is true, and im not saying its true. then repercusions would be that smc cannot own more than 3 franchise.

i don't think the current pba by-laws prevent ownership of more than 3 teams.

and even if it does, the pba can always adjust the rules if they deemed it beneficial like the way they adjusted it so smc can have 3 teams then back when when the prevailing rule was maximum of 2 teams per company.

[Jordan Bruiseter]

MVP is likewise interested in acquiring PAL,...Regardless, an Ang or MVP company will definitely make PAL better. Which is probably why Noli Eala was trying to give a hint when he tweeted earlier about PAL's flight delay and how he hoped that a new owner would make the airline's services better.

The SMC buy-in into PAL is merely being finalized. Half a billion USD from RSA gets him somewhere around 46% of PAL. Tan retains majority ownership and is still Chairman but RSA gets full control of operations via shareholders' agreement. What would be interesting is if SMC renames one team as PAL. This would be the second "returning" brand (after Meralco) from MICAA, where they were known as the PAL Skymasters.

Some notes:
MVP's offer was much bigger - $700 million. This however entails majority ownership and kick Tan off as Chariman. With Tan, this obviously had no chance at all.
Lina of Air21/Barako Bull currently sits in the board of PAL as an independent director.

[reamily]

Whoever takes over the PAL operations would be our FLAG Carrier

[digitalsuperman]

Whoever takes over the PAL operations would be our FLAG Carrier

i knew this was comming...