PBA board defers action on RFM

The fate of the RFM Corp. franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association remained in the balance as the league board of governors on Monday asked the management of the Concepcion ballclub to make a formal position paper first before it sits down to discuss the matter.

The question at hand is whether RFM Corp. can transfer its PBA franchise to San Miguel Corp. as part of the imminent purchase by the giant food conglomerate of the Cosmos Bottling Corp. – a subsidiary of RFM Corp.

Earlier this year, the board amended one particular article in its by-laws allowing SMC to acquire a third ballclub in Purefoods after San Miguel Beer and Ginebra following its purchase of the Purefoods Corp. from the Ayala Group of Companies.

The amended provision allows multi-ownership in the league provided the team is acquired through merger with another existing member company. The hitch in the Pop Cola case is that the franchise is owned by RFM Corp. and not by the Cosmos Bottling Corp. which is the one being bought by SMC.

The Concepcions, through board representative Elmer Yanga, presented the matter to the board in a special meeting Monday night at the Edsa Shangri-La Plaza. But the board deferred voting pending the formal position from RFM Corp. although several board members have expressed resistance to the matter.

One board member said the transfer should have been turned down right then had the voting been done Monday. He counted Alaska Milk, Tanduay Rhum, Talk N Text and either Red Bull or Tanduay as among those opposing the transfer.

"The problem now is this may become a top-management issue. There may be some swing votes when we cast our votes," said the governor.

A two-thirds vote of the board is needed for the franchise transfer to be approved.

If their bid is turned down, Yanga said their other option is to continue participation in the league carrying the banner of Selecta.

In the same meeting, the PBA board approved national coach Ron Jacobs’ appeal that he be allowed to get 18 PBA players for his training pool. The deadline for Jacobs to name his players for the training pool was also moved from the 17th to the 22nd of the month, giving the American coach longer time to conduct tryouts.