MANILA, 2 August — Is the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) dead or dying?
This is the nagging question confronting the MBA these days after it announced that it is closing shop for now.
Due to the bulging operational costs, mounting debts and anemic sponsorship, the MBA — a once-thriving professional league that rivaled the more established Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) — decided to call off the games of its ongoing national tournament.
It marked a sad end to an ambitious league which had a hugely successful inaugural season in 1998 that saw it rival the PBA, the country’s premier league, in popularity and following, thanks to a mass-based regional format and the backing of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
MBA chairman Santi Araneta and Commissioner Chito Loyzaga said the league is “taking a short break” but they vowed to be back “soon”. The MBA, following a caucus among its prime movers, officials, players and coaches during the short break for the Jones Cup last week, announced moves to restructure the league’s format.
Araneta explained the move would pave the way for a “restructuring of the league’s format with the vision of creating a new identity.”
He emerged from the meeting armed with optimism that a new MBA would soon rise from a short hiatus with a better format and acceptance from fans, sponsors and patrons. He gathered his think tank and marketing group that would form a new league identity, which he plans to be more vibrant and stable.
Likewise, Araneta hinted the league may bounce back this year, keeping the regional format but reformatting everything else.
“We’ve staked all we had in the possibilities of creating a pro league that is also grassroot and regionally rooted. In five years, we have learned and gained more than we really expected, and it primed us to seek another avenue that would make the MBA a success both as a business venture and a sports league,” said Araneta, who vowed to stick to the league’s regional basketball concept. “It’s basically a re-tooling. Although we have also heard rumors saying the MBA is dead or dying, we would like to bet on it that we are not. We would soon spring back with activities that would also complement the other leagues and Philippine basketball in general.”
Among the possibilities raised during the caucus was the transformation of the MBA from a professional to amateur league, although most team owners and Araneta, himself, were cold on the suggestion to drop the league’s regional format.
“We thrived on being a regional league. The fans would be the first to be hurt by our decision to call off the games, so we are paying them back for all their support by guaranteeing them of our return still as a regional league,” said Araneta.
One thing is certain: the MBA is struggling to stay afloat in the middle of its fifth season so bankruptcy is inevitable. And it will be out of the sporting scene — for now
Yet, the league still kept the door open for a big comeback early next year, so much so that it made no mention of folding up in the announcement released to media offices.
“It’s very unfortunate,” said MBA director for business operations Ramon Tuason. “But technically, we’re not folding up the league, we’d just be re-formatting.”
Indeed, the league has fallen victim to hard times since, its feasibility dragged down by the enormous cost of holding games in the provinces, the immense payroll of players its teams lured from the PBA and the economic woes in the country.
“We grew too fast,” said Tuason.
He admitted that some of the league’s team owners had already refused to commit themselves to the idea of continuing the league on its fifth season after ABS-CBN withdrew its support at the start of the year. But they eventually decided to gamble, which, unfortunately, didn’t reap dividends.
Sadly, things only got worse this year.
For one, the league owes new TV partner NBN-Channel 4 around 5.6 million pesos — the reason the coverage of its games was discontinued by the station last month ñ while salaries of its players haven’t been paid the last three months.
According to Tuason, there were also some corporate sponsors which either reneged on commitments or backed out entirely, costing the league around 20 million pesos in sponsorship money.
“Obviously, it’s a business failure,” he admitted.
Still, Tuason said team owners and officials have committed themselves to finding ways to honor all of the league’s obligations, from the debt to NBN to the back wages of players.
Technically, the league is not obligated to honor long-term pacts of players since its uniform players’ contracts stipulate that all contracts are considered rescinded once the league folded up. But Tuason said the league is committed to pay the salaries due its players.
“Everybody will get their due because we still continue to exist as a league. We are only setting our sights on a stronger league that is at tuned with the times,” said Araneta.
On the other hand, insiders said there are about three or four MBA teams that are viable financially which are exploring the possibility of moving to the amateur Philippine Basketball League.
Araneta also reiterated the MBA will keep its offices, including those in the regions, and its website, which will continue to run news on league developments before it opens shop anew early next year.
MBA will also keep its commitment in forming national teams for international competitions, including the coming Southeast Asian Games in 2003.
An MBA All-Star selection, led by LBC-Batangas’ Alex Compton, recently arrived from Taiwan with a fifth place finish from the William Jones Cup.
Reacting to reports that Araneta has called off the remaining games of the National Conference, NBN Chair and President Mia Concio, meanwhile, expressed grave concern over the league’s financial obligations to the network.
“We have not been formally informed about the league’s plans, but this is serious considering the huge amount involved,” she said. “My main concern is for MBA to assure NBN that it will honor its commitment with the network.”
Early this year, Araneta brought MBA to the government network with a broadcast and marketing arrangement that he deemed promising.
“We welcomed the opportunity he offered then and shared his vision for sports development,” said Mia Concio. “MBA fitted perfectly into NBN’s profile as a sports channel.”
The telecast of MBA games continued despite delays in the payment of its monthly dues. “These delays have affected the network’s cash flow projections and operational expenses,” explained Concio. “The network has a serious need for immediate cash and Santi Araneta is aware of this.”
However, repeated calls to the MBA office as to how payment will be realized remained futile, according to Concio. “If they’re down, so are we.”
Concio is concerned about the negative impact the reported cancellation of MBA games will have on the network’s personnel.
She said: “These people need to be assured that MBA will play.”
While expressing continued support for whatever suitable solution to its problems the MBA will find, Concio said that NBN will see to it that MBA does not renege on its responsibilities.
Meanwhile, the PBA board kept the league’s doors slightly open for players that have been displaced by the sudden “fold-up” of the MBA.
The PBA governors said they are currently studying ways to possibly accommodate cagers left without jobs with the disbandment of the country’s only other professional cage league. There had been suggestions that the PBA hold a mid-season draft for these players — a process unprecedented in the pro league’s history but something the board is looking at, it said.
“We’re still studying the options,” said league chairman Butch Alejo of Purefoods.
Some prominent names in the MBA roster, among them Romel Adducul, have expressed willingness to jump to the PBA at a moment’s notice, but may have to wait until next year’s draft to do so if the board does not grant special concessions to these players.
The MBA has already undertaken radical changes, particularly on financial matters, in a bid to remedy operational problems.
Describing it as a cancer that’s slowly but surely killing the sport millions of Filipinos follow with a passion, the MBA had decided to do away with allowing won-game and placement bonuses in individual player contracts beginning this season.
