Smart Gilas taking over Barako Bull?

MANILA, Philippines - The PBA board of governors holds a special meeting Thursday to hear the proposal of Smart Sports on a possible tie-up with Barako Bull at least in the coming PBA Philippine Cup.

The giant telecom company is looking to strike a deal with Barako Bull and the league. The idea is for the Smart Gilas national training team to take over from Barako Bull in the all-Filipino tourney, thus, helping the Energy Food Drinks franchise tide over its finances while in transition period.

Smart Gilas, meanwhile, is after the benefit of gaining the needed exposure for its players in their buildup for forthcoming international campaigns.

Under the Smart proposal, the training pool is to take over from the Energy Boosters, wearing the Smart Gilas jersey with the Barako Bull logo on the back of the uniform.

“Smart approached us and brought up the idea. We never said yes, knowing it needs a board approval. We told them to talk to the board and, if it says yes, then we can talk about finer points of the issue,” said Barako Bull governor and team manager Tony Chua.

“Practically, it’s still an exploratory talk. But if it’s beneficial to everyone, why not?” Chua said.

“Smart is looking to hit three birds with one stone. They want to enhance the buildup of their team, they want to help us and they want to help the league,” he said.

Barako Bull is in a transition period with the family of George Chua taking over from Red Bull International full funding of the ball club.

“Strictly speaking there’s no leave of absence in the PBA, and I don’t know how the board will view the proposal,” said PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios.

“This proposal is something new. It’s not in the PBA by-laws, and it’s not for me to decide. It’s in the hands of the board,” Barrios said.

The league commissioner expects it to come to voting with a two-thirds vote of the board needed for its approval.