Purefoods says disbandment will hurt brand

The PBA board of governors is likely to sit down in another emergency meeting in the next few days as Purefoods appealed its case, saying the disbandment of the team "will result in material and significant loss to the company in terms of substantial investment and very likely erosion of brand quality."

While also saying Purefoods’ continued existence in the PBA is good for the league, Purefoods board representative Butch Alejo underscored significant and irreparable loss the company will suffer once its ballclub is disbanded.

"Through the 13 years of its franchise, Purefoods had invested more than P300 million to build and maintain the basketball team. Morever, the Purefoods basketball team has helped the company build a dominant brand which now controls a significant portion of the hotdog market. All these will be lost once the team is disbanded," said Alejo in a letter to the board dated June 29.

"The loss will be very significant and irreparable which our company at this time can ill afford," he added.

Purefoods reportedly controls no less than 70 percent of the hotdog market in the country today.

The board, in an earlier emergency meeting, decided to allow continued participation by Purefoods in the league until the end of the year although San Miguel Corp. has purchased Purefoods Corp., including its PBA franchise, for P8 billion.

Purefoods is now appealing that it be allowed to play in the league even beyond 2001.

Alejo said they will accept the loss of their voting right in the board if only to maintain its PBA franchise.

At the same time, Alejo nixed the idea that maintaining the Purefoods team would fan speculations of possible collusion or game-giving among Purefoods, Ginebra and San Miguel.

"The recent All-Filipino finals between Ginebra and San Miguel demonstrated a high level of professional basketball and true and fair, if not heated competition, even among sister teams as manifested in the games the sister teams played," he said.

"The level of attendance will also prove that the paying public did not perceive a rigged or pre-arranged outcome by the two sister teams. On the contrary, the public witnessed games that were played fiercely by two professional sister teams," he added.

Meanwhile, with all the talks about their forthcoming disbandment, the Hotdogs hope to keep their focus on the game on the hardcourt as they take on the Alaska Aces in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena today.

Both the Hotdogs and the Aces are on the verge of gaining a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals with identical 4-2 win-loss marks.

Today’s other game features Shell trying to check an slarming skid and avoid early elimination versus Sta. Lucia Realty.