Titan escapes fine

There’s a PBA rule that slaps a fine of P50,000 on a team playing without an import for its first game of either the Commissioner’s or Governors Cup. It’s levied if an import never arrived, meaning a failure to contract a reinforcement in time for the opening. If the team is unable to bring in an import for a second game, the fine is up to P100,000 and for a third to fourth contest, it’s P400,000. If it goes to a fifth, the penalty is P500,000.

However, if an import arrived but couldn’t play on the first and second games because of an injury, illness, force majeure or any other cause not attributable to the team’s fault, there is no fine. If the team still shows up without an import for a third game, the penalty is P200,000.

The fines are different when a team is unable to suit up an import in mid-conference due to injury, illness, force majeure or any other cause not attributable to the team’s fault. In this case, the PBA allows a grace period of two games without a penalty. But if the team fails to suit up an import on the third game, the fine is P50,000, escalating to P100,000 on the fourth, P200,000 on the fifth and sixth and P500,000 on the seventh.

The penalties are imposed to make sure a team complies with the requirement of securing an import for a conference where reinforcements are allowed. It’s not easy to find a perfect import like a Justin Brownlee, Norman Black, Sean Chambers or Bobby Parks. More often than not, recruiting is a hit-or-miss proposition. Players with NBA credentials aren’t necessarily blue-chippers although it’s a sign of talent level. Age makes a difference and whether a player is on the downhill in his career or not. Overseas experience is a factor and usually, a strong collegiate background is a positive indicator. Championship pedigree is another tick in a resume. For instance, Blackwater import Kentrell Barkley has been on title teams in Taiwan and Vietnam. Brownlee had a stellar career at St. John’s University and has won championships in Lebanon, UAE, Indonesia, ABL, PBA, SEA Games and Asian Games.

Titan escaped a fine when it started the Governors Cup without an import for two games although James Milton and Tirrell Brown were both in town ready to play. Milton came without a FIBA Letter of Clearance from his previous league while Brown had his FIBA approval but no Bureau of Immigration permit. Titan’s first game was on a Friday and second was the next Sunday. Milton’s FIBA clearance didn’t come on time and Brown couldn’t get his immigration permit until Monday. Under the rules, if Titan still had no import for a third game, it would be fined P200,000.

Brown was cleared to play on Titan’s third game against NLEX last Tuesday and delivered 27 points in a 135-100 loss. If he’s replaced due to injury, Brown may be reactivated once. A replacement import, however, may not be reactivated if he’s cut. Brown, 32, played for D2 Ouachita Baptist University and as an import in Argentina (eight years), Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Milton, 34, is from D3 Stevenson University and saw action in Belize, El Salvador, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Thailand. Neither import shows a glowing resume and Titan will be hard pressed to be competitive in a conference where NBA veterans George King, BJ Johnson and Darius Days are on the prowl.