Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. - Changing the Philippine Basketball Landscape

I wasn't a Danding fan when it came to his politics. He was Marcos' primary crony and pretty much ran the coconut industry in the country (another crony, Roberto Benedicto was the primary stakeholder of the sugar industry). I didn't vote for him in the 1992 presidential elections mainly because he and Imelda represented the Marcos bloc. He was also suspected to have a hand in Ninoy Aquino's assassination, albeit, never proven.

Photo c/o GMA Network News

But I will always be an admirer of ECJ for his contribution to PHL basketball. I never rooted for San Miguel Beer in the PBA, except on certain cases like the 1979 Finals (cheered for RTO against Toyota) or when they were underdogs in the 1984 season as Gold Eagle Beer. Those who know me well understand how closely I followed the NCC program dating back when it all started in 1980, the same year ECJ was appointed project director for basketball by Marcos. Yet, even if I love the national team, I didn't convert to becoming an SMB fan in 1986 when the nucleus of the team joined the franchise (then called Magnolia) in the 3rd Conference. 

Yet, that NCC team was the closest national team I've ever followed. From the time the team was being formed, won the 1981 Jones, Cup, won the 1981 SEAG gold, the 1982 Asian Youth, getting robbed in the 1983 ABC, winning the 1984 Asian Interclub, performing well in the 1985 World Interclub, winning the 1985 Jones Cup, winning the 1985 Reinforced Conference, and finally, the 1986 ABC championship - I was a fan.

Ambassador Cojuangco's single biggest contribution to PHL basketball wasn't his investing on the national team. It wasn't his putting up the PABL as a league that eventually replaced the MICAA. It wasn't bringing in coach Ron Jacobs and Fil-Americans and naturalized players like Ricardo Brown, Willie Pearson, Jeff Moore, Dennis Still and Chip Engelland to the country. All significant, but these were not his best offer to the cause.

Danding with the implementor of his basketball program, Coach Ron Jacobs

I feel that ECJ made us believe again that we can be a powerhouse basketball playing nation in the world. He laid down the groundwork, given the limited time he had to prove himself. He understood that there was a talent drain in the amateur ranks brought about by players turning pro. Since he needed to produce results right away, and knowing how long it will take to nurture the existing talent pool that the PHL had back then, he made a supreme revolutionary move of bringing in no less than eight (8) foreign talents from the United States, naturalize them by presidential decree during the Martial Law era, suit them up for the national team, and provide the fastest way to transfer technology. 

It wasn't an easy trek, despite the power that he possessed. He had to contend with another crony, Herminio Disini of the Herdis Group of Companies, who had his APCOR Financiers team dominating the MICAA in 1980 and 1981 and was generally considered as a godfather himself to the sport back then. Ultimately, Disini left the country for Austria after the Dewey Dee case and ECJ had the basketball world all for himself.

He retained his San Miguel basketball team in the PBA but it was apparent that he focused his resources more on the national team. After discarding the initial plan of filling the entire national team roster with naturalized players brought about by the lukewarm reception received by the team after winning the 1981 Jones Cup in splendid fashion, the next direction was to focus on key areas of weaknesses that the country perennially had. In 1982, the Philippine team won the Asian Youth title held at the Araneta Coliseum, demolishing title favorites and defending champion, China, 74-63, in front of more than 25,000 fans, including the then First Lady, Imelda Marcos, in attendance. It was a proud moment for Philippine basketball, and Cojuangco showed us vignettes of the potential of his basketball program.

The 1982 RP Youth team that won the Asian Youth title

There were still hitches that needed ironing out. Because of the pioneering move of hiring naturalized players (never heard or done before in this region), neighboring countries questioned our decision of fielding naturalized players, Moore and Still, in the 1983 ABC held in Hong Kong. After allowing Moore and Still to suit up in the elimination round where we won both games, they were disqualified and the two games were forfeited in favor of our opponents. 

Yet, Cojuangco plodded on. He put up the PABL in 1983, giving amateur players a venue to showcase their skills and talents. The greatest amateur basketball players of the 80's can trace back their roots to the PABL. in 1984, the national team won the Asian Interclub held in Ipoh, Malaysia, proving to everyone of the team's capability to win the ABC in Hong Kong had not for the ambush. In a phenomenal display of dominance, the Cement Makers won by a margin of 43.5 points per game, including two 20 point plus demolitions of the Chinese team that bannered the 7'4 Mu Tie Zhu. It was annihilation on payback time. 

Coach Ron Jacobs given the traditional victory lift

The national team also guested in the PBA starting in 1984 but experienced some rough sailing as well. There was perception of the referees favoring the PBA teams, particularly on borderline calls, when going up against the national team. The league also didn't find comfort in having a guest team, all amateur players at that, to win a professional championship. In the end, ECJ's team handily won the 1985 Reinforced Conference in the most lopsided Finals series in league history against the Manila Beer Brewmasters.

Danding's NCC team winning the 1985 Reinforced Conference

Apart from the PBA title, 1985 was a very good year for ECJ as his team played extremely well in the World Interclub held in Gerona, Spain. While they won only once in 4 games, they had close games against the US and Brazilian teams before demolishing the Banco di Roma team of Italy, 98-79. They then won the Jones Cup after a few months, stopping the US Golden Eagles team made up of 3 future NBA pros and mentored by legendary collegiate coach, Gene Keady of Purdue, in overtime, 108-100. All these would have meant nothing though if they didn't win the ABC, a feat they accomplished on January, 1986 at Kuala Lumpur, sweeping all their rivals for the top spot.

Danding with the core of the 1986 national basketball team

When Cojuangco came back from exile after EDSA 1 and regained control of San Miguel Corporation, it didn't take long for him to bring the Beermen back to its dominant ways. By the 2nd Conference of the 1999 season, they were already winning championships on a regular basis, 16 of the last 54. With the conglomerate now being run by Ramon Ang, Cojuangco took a backseat and opted to steer clear from the limelight until he became the chief benefactor of the Dela Salle Green Archers basketball team.

Danding as DLSU godfather (Photo c/o Tiebreaker Times)

There's no doubt that Danding Cojuangco was a winner. He seemed to possess the golden hand - whatever he touches always turned to gold. He may have also been successful in his other sports interests like horse racing, vintage cars, equestrian, golf and boxing but it was in basketball where he truly made his mark as a sportsman and leader. He has lived a full life and Philippine basketball will forever be grateful to him. 

May he rest in peace...

Marcial and Baldwin: A Tale of Two Perspectives

The recent controversy that stemmed from Gilas project director Tab Baldwin's statement on the PBA's quality of officiating and how the league is being run has rankled PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial. The Commissioner has threatened to impose sanctions on the assistant head coach of the Talk 'N Text KaTropa for coming up with such statements that are detrimental to the league. 

Photos courtesy of ABS-CBN Sports

Initial Thoughts

1) I felt Marcial could have taken this remark constructively and move forward. It's an opinion coming from an international-caliber coach who has his own observations. While he may have criticized the league, it wasn't derogatory but more like an avenue for improvement.

2) I don't understand what Marcial was referring to when he said Baldwin could've gone to Ricky Vargas or Bong Ravena or Gabby Cui to air his concerns, while he could have done the same thing himself - going to Vargas to discuss what Baldwin said. It's more prudent on his part as Commissioner instead of threatening him with a penalty through media.

Manotoc vs. Jacobs

In the 1984 2nd All Filipino Conference, then Deputy Commissioner Tommy Manotoc had a similar issue against American coach Ron Jacobs but knew how to handle him. When Jacobs acted in protest over the bad officiating in their 1984 Finals KO game against Beer Hausen which NCC lost, relegating them to a 3rd place battle vs. Tanduay, Jacobs hardly gave playing time to naturalized players Still, Moore and Engelland and got clobbered by the Esquires in the first two games by an average of 23 points, including a game that saw Denis Abbatuan score 51 points. Prior to Game 3, Manotoc spoke with Jacobs and warned him of a penalty, if he kept this up. In Game 3, Jacobs fielded his best players, with Engelland scoring 60 points, that resulted to NCC routing Tanduay, 148-110. No penalties given, no unnecessary threats, and you can even say Ron committed the "graver sin." But Manotoc was a secured man and knew how to handle such egos. In the end, both men were able to prove their respective points - Manotoc being a firm but fair Deputy Commissioner while Jacobs displaying his wisdom by winning the 1986 ABC title. 

Suffice to add that Jacobs was a far more difficult "nut to crack" because his boss was Danding Cojuangco. I really don't care about the opinion of the other personalities (Alfrancis Chua, Yeng Guiao, Louie Alas) because they can agree or dissent, a personal opinion given, and that's fine by me. I'm more focused on Marcial since he's the Commissioner and whatever he says is representative of the league. Why didn't Marcial just summon Baldwin in his office quietly to discuss his concerns? Why didn't he just go to Ricky Vargas and handle things more professionally? Even more, why did Marcial not get involved and give penalties to Wells, Tubid, Nabong and Santos of SMB in a melee in front of fans during practice and merely allowed SMB management to impose the said penalties?

Did Marcial speak out because Alfrancis Chua also has spoken out against Baldwin? That goes without saying. For me though, whether Baldwin was right or wrong doesn't matter - he expressed an opinion. Whether that was derogatory, ill-intended, and malicious is something that can only be judged when Marcial hears his side. At this point, Marcial has also expressed his opinion on what to do with Baldwin - the problem is that he's the Commissioner and now, he's obligated to follow through what he said. Marcial could have merely summoned him sans fanfare, and then release a statement when an official verdict is given. If it means a fine or a suspension, so be it. But you don't express an opinion on media without hearing the side of the other person. It's just unbecoming from a league Commissioner, especially since he contradicted himself, doing exactly the same thing that he's accusing Tab of.

Root Cause

The source of the problem is that the personalities involved are coming from different perspectives. And while I see the logic from both sides, it's difficult to reconcile both as their objectives are far apart from each other.

Marcial is looking at it from the angle of entertainment and business. He wants the PBA to be a lucrative endeavor to ensure that club participation remains active and that the PBA remains a viable vehicle among present and future franchises as a marketing tool. To do so, you would need to have fans cheering for the local talents and their playing time not taken away by the imports, which is really logical because the lifeblood of the PBA is anchored on two factors: the franchises and the fans. Not long-term but not exactly myopic. You won't find in the PBA Constitution anything that involves participation in the national team or ensuring continuous basketball development in the country.

On the other hand, Tab's viewpoint is player development. He wants the PHL to be a basketball great internationally. He feels that the PBA, being the top basketball league in the country, has become a detriment towards progress as its style of play is fundamentally flawed for the international game. He feels that the PBA should play a major role in the national basketball landscape as they do have the best players in the league. And that if the PBA changes this approach, it can be a springboard towards greater international success, parallel to the objectives of the SBP.

Photo c/o Dugout Philippines

The thing is, with both groups' objectives not parallel with each other, there will never ever be a meeting of minds. All we'll have are compromises which has what happened for the past 30 years and it has never worked. One party just can't give way to the other without violating the very objectives of their respective groups. 

The PBA has allowed its players to suit up for the national team since "open basketball" came about in 1990. So far, no national team has replicated the success of the last national team that won the FIBA-Asia tournament (then called the Asian Basketball Confederation) - the 1986 team of Jacobs. Back then, we kept on saying we're the best in basketball in this region but the pro league's existence has prevented us to prove this to our rivals. Yet, our best finish was in 2013 when we won a silver medal at home and two years after in Changsha, as well as a silver medal placing as well in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. That only proves that we're not Asia's best anymore.

Curiously, the last team that won the FIBA-Asia title did not have access to the players in the pros. They were culled from a bunch of collegiate players and reinforced by two naturalized players. Their secret was their ability to stay together as a unit for almost 5 years, expose themselves in the international competitions, while ensuring they kept in shape by participating as a guest team in the PBA. 

 The victorious 1986 national basketball team in the ABC

Gilas 1.0 under Coach Rajko Toroman

Where To?

Because of the fundamental differences of the PBA and the SBP, the only resolution really is to rely less on the PBA, as what Baldwin has previously declared. It has been done before - first, by Cojuangco's program that started as early as 1980 when he was project director for the sport, and second, in 2009 when Gilas 1.0 was put up by PBA former Commissioner and former SBP Project Director Noli Eala. 

And the timing is ideal - it's ripe for the picking. With up and coming talents like Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Dalph Panopio, Thirdy Ravena, Kobe Paras, Juan Gomez De Liano, Dwight Ramos, CJ Cansino, Dave Ildefonso, Rhenz Abando, among the top collegiate players today, the pool is deep enough to come up with a young, yet formidable, national team for the future. Add Jordan Clarkson in the mix and you have a potent national lineup that has the chance to beat any national team that the PBA can form in the future. 

Fans would recall how the 1985 national team beat a PBA All-Star team reinforced by Francois Wise in 1985 in a benefit game for Mike Bilbao, who suffered a near fatal car accident along Alabang-Zapote Road in Muntinlupa. Similarly, Gilas 1.0 overpowered the Powerade national team of Guiao that played in Tianjin, China for the 2009 FIBA-Asia tourney. This scenario isn't unlikely again. It's not a matter of putting up a basketball team with the best players, but putting up the best basketball team. NCC and GIlas 1.0 proved that before. It can be replicated.

 The 1985 Reinforced Conference champions

Photo courtesy of GMA Network

Stumbling Block

Of course, the PBA may end up nipping all these in the bud. Note that a recent rule by the league threatening to ban eligible players who won't join the draft is actually counter to any future plans of the SBP. If an amateur player is already eligible to join the draft but won't because he has to play for Gilas or the 3x3, it takes away his right to earn a living in the future once he declares himself ready for the pros. The SBP would now find itself in a tight situation where young players, for fear of being banned by the PBA, would eventually leave the national pool. I find it appalling that the country's blueprint to international basketball success is not anymore being blocked by the FIBA but by the PBA itself.

This would force the hand of the SBP now to cough up a little more than it should when giving allowances to the young players to stay in the amateur ranks. And given the timeline of Baldwin where 2023 would mean qualifying in the second round and 2027 for the medal rounds in the World Cup, the roadmap is long-term and would be very costly.

Again, this is because it runs counter to the PBA's own goals. Preventing top amateur players from joining the league would mean only the second-tier talents ending up in the draft. You can only imagine how the franchises are salivating for the opportunity to have the likes of Paras, Ravena, De Liano, Ramos, etc. in their rosters.

Future national team mainstays Kobe Paras and Thirdy Ravena

Win-Win Situation

There's a win-win proposition here, although I don't know if the PBA is amenable to such. If they don't want to remove the threat of the ban, then at least, exempt those players who were selected as part of the national pool (including 3x3). If a player wants to stay in the pool until 2027, then so be it. Threatening to ban players not joining the PBA when they're eligible is a draconian measure, especially considering the PBA has no relationship with any amateur player, and hence, may be questioned in court as a form of curtailment of human rights.

Second, allow the national team to play in PBA conferences to keep them competitive and in game shape. Adjust to the FIBA rules when the national team is participating, if only to ensure that the team won't have to adjust every single time. Make the calls fair and objective without partiality to any PBA team.

Third, when the national team plays in the PBA, make sure this happens on import-laced conferences. There's nothing more embarrassing than an all local PBA ballclub losing to an all-amateur team just like what happened twice in the past. Moreso, if they end up winning a PBA title, not unlike what NCC did in the 1985 Reinforced Conference when it  swept and annihilated  the Manila Beer Brewmasters in what is regarded as the most lopsided Finals ever, losing by an average of 25.5 per game.

In return, imagine the benefits the PBA will receive once those in the pool finally opt to turn pro. Not only will they be household names already, their talent stock would have risen considerably that they would be dominating the league in the next 5 years or so. Again, this is not without precedent. When the NCC program folded up, the PBA benefited when Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Yves Dignadice, Pido Jarencio, Elmer Reyes, Franz Pumaren, etc. joined the league in 1986 and 1987. There was a resurgence in the interest in the pro league brought about by these young men. Similarly, in the 2011 draft, the Gilas 1.0 players also came in, ushering another new generation of players. Guys like Marcio Lassiter, JVee Casio, Chris Lutz, Mark Barroca, and Chris Tiu came aboard and the league once more ended up as the primary beneficiary. 

Similarly, Marcial and company would not have to worry about schedule disruption, player adjustment, long seasons for players, etc., anymore. The PBA can go on with what they feel is best for them - 3 conferences, preferred number of imports, among others. 

In the end, this won't just be a compromise, but a win-win deal for both as they fulfill their respective organization's mission statements.