THE PBA has vowed major changes to the way the D-League is being run amid a spate of 'highly irregular results' and dubious patterns that cast a cloud over the games in the ongoing Foundation Cup.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said pro league officials have resolved to institute reforms necessary to rid the developmental league of suspicion of game-fixing and other shenanigans.
Some of these changes, Marcial added, would require the careful screening of new franchises and their owners, a separate screening for new players, and a sizeable bond that would be required from participating ballclubs.
"Nakalinya na ang mga changes na ito," said the PBA commissioner on Monday after BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare broke a slew of league scoring records in a 180-117 rout of Hyperwash at the Paco Arena in Manila.
St. Clare set new D-League records for most points in a game (180), half (108 in the second half) and quarter (60) to put away a game where it led by only three points, 54-51, with 1:58 left in the first half.
By scoring 180 points, the Saints also eclipsed the old record of 161 points which they themselves set last September 2 in a 161-122 conquest of Black Mamba Energy Drink.
Last month, one of the league's new teams, Nailtalk-St. Dominic Savio, pulled out of the tournament after losing its first four games by an average of 26.5 points, none more humiliating than a 61-point defeat at the hands of Centro Escolar University, 107-66.
Last year, another new team, Mila's Lechon, became the first D-League team to disband in mid-tournament after it got blown out by an average of 26.2 points in four games and got massacred, 102-55, by Zarks Burger–Lyceum in a match where observers felt the players ‘just quit playing’ during the second half.
Disturbing betting patterns in international betting sites were also seen while the team's games were in progress.
Marcial, who is in Macau to oversee the participation of TNT, San Miguel and Blackwater in the East Asia Terrific 12, declined to comment on the highly irregular results of games, only saying that these are being closely monitored.
However, SPIN.ph has obtained a D-League memo warning teams that officials will be observing 'strange patterns' like sitting out top players in crucial stages of games.
Another source bared that there is suspicion that a number of teams in the current league roster are under one ownership.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
