PBA board tackles Tanduay sale, RFM issue

Two sensitive issues – the planned transfer of the RFM franchise to San Miguel Corp. and the imminent sale of the Tanduay franchise to FedEx – will be tackled today when the PBA board meets for the last time this year at the Manila Golf Club.

The RFM issue, an offshoot of SMC’s plan to take over Cosmos Bottling Corp., was presented to the board early this month. But the board deferred action and asked the RFM group to make a formal position paper first before the matter is discussed.

The Concepcions, owners of the RFM franchise, had agreed to have its PBA franchise included in the sale of Cosmos Bottling Corp. to SMC which already has three teams under its fold – San Miguel Beer, Ginebra and Purefoods.

The SMC group owning four of the 10 teams in the PBA may lead to a lot of complications, making the issue a tough one for the board to decide. If it turns down the transfer of the RFM franchise to SMC, the Concepcions will be forced to keep the franchise – probably under the colors of Selecta Ice Cream.

A two-thirds vote – of six of nine – is needed to pave the way for the transfer but sources said it seems unlikely since four teams are reportedly against SMC owning almost half the number of PBA ballclubs. They are Alaska Milk, Tanduay, Talk N Text and Red Bull.

The Tanduay issue, on the other hand, stemmed from its negotiations with FedEx regarding the sale of its franchise for P75 million. The deal, sources said, was consummated without the knowledge of the commissioner’s office and the board itself.

Sources said it was Lucio Tan, Sr. who decided to put the Tanduay franchise up for sale after internal problems kept bugging the team, including the ouster of Lucio Tan, Jr. as board representative. Four key players, including Eric Menk, were later traded to rival teams under the SMC group. — Abac Cordero