Critics of the Philippine Basketball Association have long complained about the SMC Group and MVP Group of having multiple teams in Asia's first play-for-pay league. But consider the alternative, as proclaimed recently by San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua.
Chua, who is also the team governor of Barangay Ginebra in the PBA board, said in an interview that if naysayers' wishes are to be followed then the number of teams competing in the PBA will most definitely be whittled down from the current 12 to a measly five—an unsurvivable—if not near apocalyptic in basketball terms—proposition if you ask me.
In such a scenario, the SMC Group, which stands for San Miguel Corp., will probably only retain its flagship San Miguel Beermen franchise, while cutting loose crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra and the league's arguably second most popular team Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots (at least we'll finally rid of this long-winded team name).
For the MVP Group, which stands for Manny V. Pangilinan, the CEO of telecom giant PLDT and chairman of Meralco, will most probably hold on to its premier squad TNT Tropang Giga, while ditching sister teams NLEX Road Warriors and defending Philippine Cup champion Meralco Bolts.
Along with the sister teams of the SMC Group and MVP Group, also affected by the purge are suspected SMC Group farm teams North Port Batang Pier and Terrafirma Dyip and suspected TNT farm team Blackwater Elite.
That will leave just the San Miguel Beermen, TNT Tropang Giga, and independent teams Converge FiberXers., Phoenix Fuel Masters, and Rain or Shine Elastopainters plying their trade in the PBA. This would mean much less playing dates and less competition, but more importantly lost jobs not only for the players and coaches of the seven teams that unfortunately will have to say bye-bye, but also the ancillary staff whose livelihoods depend on the PBA like the ballboys, athletic trainers, and even caterers, etc.
What's more, thinning the roster of teams in the PBA would also result in the formation of not only super teams but something greater than that. If PBA critics who have already complained how the Beermen or the Gin Kings are stack full of superstars wait until Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Paul Lee, and Ian Sangalang join Junemar Fajardo and C.J. Perez in a now super souped-up SMB lineup or the TNT Tropang Giga getting an infusion of Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan, Robert Bolick, and Ato Ular. And we're not even factoring in superstar players of alleged farms teams like Arvin Tolentino, Christian Standhardinger, and Sedrick Barefield here.
As unpalatable the present PBA setup of two rival giant corporations having multiple teams (and farm teams) in the fold, the alternative right now is unimaginable. Here's praying that down the road, the country's No. 1 basketball league will strike a balance between healthy competition and survival.
And speaking of Fajardo, the 6'10" gentle giant has now equaled the regular season MVP trophies of Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio combined after he won his eighth award during the recent PBA Leo Awards (at this rate might as well name the trophy after The Kraken).
The past season, Fajardo normed around 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks per game while shooting better than 55% from the field in 38 contests for the Beermen.
Counting the recent 2024 season, the pride of Pinamungajan, Cebu also won the PBA MVP award in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Thompson broke what would've been a streak of nine straight when the Ginebra guard won the MVP award in 2021. The PBA didn't hand any awards in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We may not see the likes of Fajardo again and his eight MVPs in nine seasons—let alone eight MVPs won by a single player in PBA history.
Newly acquired Stephen Holt of Ginebra won the Rookie of the Year plum, making him the first from TerraFirma Dyip (his former team) to win the plum.
Standhardinger, now of TerraFirma, Tolentino of NorthPort, Perez of San Migiuel, and Newsome of Meralco, meanwhile, joined Fajardo in the Mythical Five. The Second Mythical Team included Meralco's Cliff Hodge, TNT's Calvin Oftana, Phoenix's Jason Perkins, Holt, and TerraFirma's Juami Tiongson.
As a testament to his all-around game, Fajardo even made it to the PBA All-Defensive Team that also consisted of Hodge, Fajardo, Newsome, TerraFirma's Kemark Cariño, and NorthPort's Joshua Munzon. Rain or Shine's Jhonard Clarito and NorthPort's Paul Zamar, meanwhile, won the Most Improved Player and the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award, respectively.