PBA commish says knockout format to stay

MANILA, Philippines – Despite Ginebra coach Tim Cone expressing dismay over the knockout format that led to the end of the Barangay’s campaign in the PBA Philippine Cup, commissioner Chito Narvasa said yesterday he’s inclined to retain the FIBA style of a one-game playoff.

“The knockout format rewards teams that are prepared from Day 1,” said Narvasa. “It reminds everyone that in the PBA, there’s no easy game, no day off. I actually find it interesting. When I took over as commissioner, the format was already in place. I didn’t want to change anything. The format means you can’t slack off. Sure, it puts a lot of pressure on players and coaches. But that’s what being professional is about. Everyone is challenged.”

Narvasa said in fairness, Cone mentioned his misgivings about the format before the Barangay was eliminated by GlobalPort, 84-83, in overtime in the knockout phase of the quarterfinals. So it wasn’t a case of post-mortem sour-graping. Cone realized what he was up against from the onset.

“Right after the eliminations and before the quarterfinals began, I met with the coaches and during that meeting, coach Tim pointed out what could happen in a one-game knockout,” said Narvasa. “He was actually the only coach who brought it up. Before the season began, the format was approved by the Board and explained to the coaches so it wasn’t like a new development. We worked on a shortened format because we want to give our Gilas national team more time to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers. If you think about it, there is a big loss in potential revenues for the league because instead of a best-of-three or best-of-five series, it’s a one-game knockout. Imagine the ticket sales if Ginebra played in a best-of-three or best-of-five series. But for the fans, a do-or-die game is always a treat.”

After Ginebra was eliminated, Cone said he blamed the format, not the officiating although two referees who worked the game were later suspended for the rest of the conference because of lapses. Alaska coach Alex Compton also referred to the pitfalls of the format after the Aces lost to GlobalPort, 107-93, in Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinal series at the MOA Arena last Monday. “We’re lucky it wasn’t a one-game knockout,” said Compton.

The FIBA employs the one-game knockout system in the playoffs of every tournament from the quarterfinals to the final. It evens the odds somewhat in that a lower seed has more chances to score an upset in a one-game knockout than in a series. At the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships in Wuhan, Jordan pulled the rug from under defending titlist Iran, 88-84, in the one-game knockout quarterfinals and went on to lose to China by a point in the final. If Jordan and Iran played in a series, the probability of Jordan winning would be far lower than in a one-game knockout. For the record, the Jordan coach was Tab Baldwin in Wuhan. Baldwin is now Gilas head coach.

“I seem to like the knockout format,” said Narvasa. “After assessing what happened, I’m inclined to retain it, looking forward. It pushes every team to prepare hard for every game and not take anything for granted. Like the FIBA format, it pushes every team to play hard whether you’re in the eliminations or playoffs. You don’t make a distinction. There’s nothing final on whether we’ll keep the format for the next Philippine Cup but at the moment, I’m inclined to stick with it.”

In the coming Commissioner’s and Governors Cups, there is no provision for a one-game knockout. The second conference will feature a single round-robin elimination with the top eight finishers advancing to the quarterfinals where No. 1 plays No. 8 and No. 2 takes on No. 7 with the higher seeds enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage and No. 3 faces No. 6 and No. 4 meets No. 5 in separate best-of-three series. Winners move on to play in separate best-of-five semifinal series then the survivors dispute the title in a best-of-seven tie.  In the Governors Cup, the same format will be used except that in the quarterfinals, the top four finishers gain a twice-to-beat advantage.  

Narvasa said assuming the semifinals and finals go the distance, the Philippine Cup will end on Feb. 3. The Commissioner’s Cup will start Feb. 10 or only a week later. All the teams will be allowed to recruit an import with a height limit of 6-9 except for Mahindra. The Board previously ruled that Mahindra and Blackwater, as last year’s expansion franchises, may sign up an import of unlimited height if they finish out of the playoffs in the Philippine Cup. Mahindra placed No. 11 and failed to make it to the quarterfinals.

Narvasa said 14 referees will be in the pool for the coming finals. “Everyday, I meet with the referees to evaluate their performance, review mechanics and go over the rules,” he said. “All 14 referees will be available for the finals. The only exceptions are the two referees who worked the GlobalPort-Ginebra knockout game and were suspended. We’re instituting reforms to improve officiating. Right now, I’m rating the referees’ performance between 6 and 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. At the moment, let’s live with the bad and missed calls. Of course, we’re doing our best to improve the quality of officiating game by game. But let’s face it, if the referees quit on us, there will be no games.”