No tears for MBA orphans

Success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan.

That saying aptly fits the situation of the Metropolitan Basketball Association. Some parties involved are running for cover, some are striving for solutions, while the players are in limbo.

"We felt bad, because when we got back from the Jones Cup, we just heard that there was no more MBA," revealed Romel Adducul of the Pangasinan Waves. "That’s what hurt. There was never any meeting to tell us what was going on."

"It’s sad, because we’ve become like a family," says Batangas Blades guard Ralph Rivera. "We’ve gotten close, and we’ve met so many people from different places, especially the fans who keep in touch with us."

Many of the players are now scampering for other sources of income, especially those in the south who have not heard any news about when and where their back wages would get paid. Some have sunk to trying out as practice players for PBA or PBL teams to subsist on the allowances given them. Others are considering giving up on basketball altogether.

"We’ll have to move on with our lives, if nothing happens," declares Dino Aldeguer of the Negros Slashers, who is back in Manila. "Sayang. The league already had such a big following, especially in the south. But we all have to go on."

"We’ll look for other tournaments to officiate in the meantime," admits MBA technical head Jun Cordero. "They said that, next year, the MBA will be back, so we’ve contacted some people we know who handle different leagues to give us work. The referees also have to eat."

Others, however, are looking into legal remedies as an option. But the veterans in the league don’t want to consider it. Yet.

"It wouldn’t look good if we file a demand letter, because some of us still have a long future in basketball," says Olongapo Volunteers head coach Junel Baculi. "The people who might consider hiring us might say we’re troublemakers. That’s a big consideration also."

But the league’s biggest casualty has taken everything in stride.

"I’ve accepted that maybe God has other plans for me," says Romel Adducul. "I felt bad when I wasn’t allowed to enter the PBA, but maybe God wanted something different from me. But next year, I’m going to the PBA. I’m finishing my studies now at San Sebastian, and around October, I might start practicing with PBA teams to get the feel of the PBA style."

Adducul is leaving today with a selection of PBL and former MBA players for an invitational tournament in Hong Kong. Joining him is Cebu Gems rookie Marc Pingris. He says that the Pangasinan players didn’t know whom to contact regarding their situation, since the sponsoring Osaka supposedly backed out. All he wants is for the players to get paid for the services they’ve rendered.

"All the players want is to be paid for the months we worked. We feel we should get paid up to July, because we worked for that. And the players need the money."

The Philippine Basketball League, meanwhile, maintains that it will limit the number of former pros entering the league to three per team. The league also aims for ten member teams. With the return of Welcoat Paints (now coached by former Shark mentor Leo Austria) that number is nine. Therefore, any former MBA franchise that will apply for membership will have a hard time getting in. This lessens the options of the unemployed MBA players.

A few MBA teams are consulting lawyers to determine what course of action to take in case league changes identity or is unable to maintain its solvency. There have been cases of corporations filing for bankruptcy, leaving former employees with no means to get their back wages. Many are praying this does not happen to the MBA.

It seems the players, coaches and other employees of the MBA are unanimous in asking for a face-to-face meeting with the league’s top brass, if only to assure them that something is being done regarding their financial problems. You can’t tell people not to eat, after all.