Players union revival mulled

Plans are reportedly afoot for the revival of the PBA Players Union with veteran players at the helm of the move in the face of the league’s own plan to reduce the salary cap and the alarming influx of Fil-foreign cagers in the local pro loop.

A meeting among senior players, team captains and assistant captains has been set Thursday to reorganize the body then probably set the course of action they would take on the issues.

Expected to be tapped to head the group are Purefoods’ Alvin Patrimonio and Alaska Milk’s Jojo Lastimosa, among the players reportedly spearheading the union revival.

A number of players has signified their intention to join the group, most of them homegrown talents eager to press league officials to set guidelines that would streamline the entry of Fil-foreign cagers in the league. Some have called for an investigation on the Fil-Ams who have already been issued certification of citizenship by the Department of Justice.

One coach told The STAR all his players have signed a petition calling on the Senate committee on sports – headed by Sen. Robert Barbers – to conduct another hearing on the matter. The hearing has reportedly been set Friday.

The petition has been passed around in the league even before the Fil-Am-laden national team had competed in the recent Busan Asian Games. It gained steam as the RP team returned from the quadrennial games without a medal.

"Naka-set na raw sa Senado dahil wala rin naman mababawing medalya sa Pilipinas kahit may mapatunayang Fil-sham na naglaro sa Busan," said The STAR source.

The Senate had conducted a hearing on the Fil-Am issue, prompting the league board of governors to ban Fil-Ams without the proper documents that could prove their Filipino citizenship.

Among the players forced to leave the country were Tanduay’s Sonny Alvarado, Purefoods’ Al Segova and Sta. Lucia’s Rob Parker. Asi Taulava and Eric Menk took sometime to secure their papers that paved the way for their PBA comeback.

The other major concern of the players is the impending reduction of the PBA salary cap scheme.

The players are likely to lobby for the retention of the old scheme although the board has reportedly decided to impose a new cap starting next year. From P500,000, the maximum monthly pay is likely to be cut to P350,000. The total annual team cap of P36.3 million may be reduced to around P30 million.

The ballclubs are cutting down on their payroll due to the economic crunch the country is experiencing at the moment. They cite the case of the NBA which was also forced to reduce its salary cap this year due to economic woes.